


The Anthem of a False Wedding

by Emme2589



Series: Super Mario Odyssey Retold [1]
Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms, Super Mario Bros. (Video Games), Super Mario Odyssey (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood, Brotherly Love, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, F/M, Forced Marriage, Hurt/Comfort, I decided Mario was aromantic on a whim, Major Character Injury, Mario and Luigi are best brothers for life, Mild Language, Near Death Experiences, Peach is a sweetheart but also kind of badass, Psychological Drama, Repressed Memories, Romance, Romantic Fluff, The ending is somewhat bittersweet, Trauma, Whatever you guys have played Mario Odyssey, im sorry for everything ive ever done, repressed trauma, the characters have magic now, themes of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:42:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 35,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24696220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emme2589/pseuds/Emme2589
Summary: Bowser kidnaps Peach to force her to be his bride, and the famous Mario Brothers set off to rescue her.But there's something Mario is keeping from them, something not even Luigi has any idea about, and he plans to keep it that way.
Relationships: Luigi/Princess Peach, Peach-hime | Peach Toadstool/Luigi (Nintendo)
Series: Super Mario Odyssey Retold [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1804945
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

Mario landed harshly on his feet, bending his knees to catch the brunt of his fall. Bowser was throwing fireballs at him as he fought, one arm in front of Princess Peach to block Mario's path.

"Bwahahaha! Face it, Mario! You'll never stop me this time!"

Mario took many gulps of air, a hand on his chest as he watched his adversary for any signs of attack.

"We _will_ stop you!" Luigi landed beside him, "We always do! Just give it up and hand over the princess!"

"Never! You insolent Mario Brothers will meet your end!" Bowser inhaled, his mouth glowing as he prepared to launch another fireball.

"Watch out!" Luigi shoved Mario, and the fire storm sailed over their heads.

"Good luck stopping me this time!" Bowser bellowed a mighty laugh, "You have nothing! By the end of the week, you'll be dead!"

"We'll see about that!" Luigi prepared an iceball in his fist, "You know, you and my brother have something in common."

"Oh? What's that?"

Luigi kicked out in a circle, summoning an ice shield on both arms as his irises glowed a bright icy blue, "You both fight fire with fire!"

Luigi launched a massive snowball at Bowser, who flew backwards, his red hair and eyebrows coated in a thick layer of frost.

Mario finally caught his breath, "Thanks, Luigi."

"No problem, bro!"

Peach ran to them, her heels clacking on the airship's wooden deck, "Are you boys okay!?"

"We're fine, Love." Luigi kissed her hand, "Are you? Bowser is holding nothing back this time!"

"I know! It's terrifying!" Peach glanced over her shoulder, "He won't hurt me, though. You know that."

"Get away from my fiancée, Luigi!" Bowser brushed his hair with his claws to dispel the frost, "Honestly, what possessed you to think she was yours!?"

"Oh, I have no idea." Luigi raised an eyebrow at him, "Maybe it was her in the cherry blossom orchard flat-out telling me that she wanted to be my girlfriend? But you're right, I could have misinterpreted her hints."

Bowser shot another fireball at him, and he blocked it with an ice shield.

"Luigi," Mario touched his brother's shoulder, "I can't go on much longer. You need to fight for me."

"On it, bro."

Luigi waved his arms in the air, raising another massive snowball, but this time he packed it tight and covered it in spikes. The more he did this, the brighter his irises glowed, and the more frost swirled around him in the air, settling on the ground at his feet.

"Don't push yourself too hard." Mario swept up Peach in his arms, "I'll get Peach to safety."

"Don't worry about me, Mario!" Luigi created a path of ice on the ground so he could start skating. He charged forward with his ice ball as he shouted, _"GO!"_

Mario bolted to the bow of the ship behind him while Luigi covered his path. Bowser deflected Luigi's shields as he swung the sharp edges at him, dispelling his fireballs with a well-placed wall of ice. Luigi created another shield beneath his feet, surfing down Bowser's barrage of fire as Mario carried Peach farther and farther away.

"Oh no you _don't!"_ Bowser blew a burst of fire at Luigi's shield, melting it and burning his arm.

"Ow!" Luigi stumbled, waving his arm in the air.

Mario skid to a halt, "Luigi!"

That momentary distraction proved to be his downfall. Bowser threw a punch at Luigi's gut, and he went sailing off the ship, screaming as he disappeared beneath the clouds that surrounded the ship.

"LUIGI!"

Bowser landed in front of Mario, shaking the floor and making him stumble, dropping Peach and allowing her to fall into Bowser's arms.

"No!" Peach fought against him, "Let me go! How dare you!? What did you do to Luigi!?"

"Oh, he'll live." Bowser laughed as he jumped back, Peach held close to his body as he reached behind him for a giant white top hat.

Mario had tears in his eyes. His chest had that familiar pain in it, but he forced fireballs to form in his hands, his irises glowing bright red.

"Don't bother." Bowser adjusted the brim of his hat on his head, "You've already lost."

He threw it, and Mario only had a second to react. The hat connected with his stomach, and he went flying off the ship.

"Don't come after me again!" Bowser tipped his hat as he left, and Mario's hat was shredded in the airship propellers.

The last thing he heard was his friend's desperate call.

"MARIO!"

***

Mario blearily opened his eyes to a dark, starry sky. The air was chilly, flowing over his skin and helping to ease the clamminess of overexerting himself. His heart pounded against his ribcage, and he almost considered trying to stay under longer, except that a cold presence was tapping his forehead.

He remembered the airship chase, and he jumped to his feet. A white top hat with big red eyes cried out and flew away, watching him wearily from the distance.

"Huh?" Mario didn't recognize his surroundings. He must not be far from the Mushroom Kingdom, and yet he had never been here before. Turning his attention forward, he called out, "Hello?"

The hat hid behind a white hat-shaped airship, dormant in the dark green grass. Mario took a few cautious steps forward, peering around it to find those worried red eyes.

"Hey." he said, trying to keep his voice down, "Are you okay? Did I startle you?"

Seemingly deciding that he was no threat, he smoothed out his brim and floated closer, "Sorry. I startle quite easily. You took a bad fall there. Are you okay?"

He was quite sore, but he wasn't about to admit that, "I'm fine. Hey, have you seen a man in a green cap and sweater around here?"

The hat shook his whole body, as he had no defined head, "No, I can't say I have. Why?"

Mario's heart sank, "I'm afraid my brother might be hurt. Um, what's your name?"

"Oh! I'm so sorry, how rude of me!" the hat swirled into the air, revealing a boo-like ghostly tail and arms, "I'm Cappy! At your service!"

Mario offered an exhausted smile, "Mario Jumpman, but you can call me Mario."

"Nice to meet you, Mario!" Cappy sighed, defeated, "Sorry, I'm just super on-edge right now! This giant spiky monster just tore through Bonneton and kidnapped my sister!"

"A spiky monster?" Mario gasped, "Bowser!"

"Is that his name? I honestly don't know, I only caught a glimpse of him!" Cappy waved him over, "Just look at all of this mess! That thing completely destroyed our town!"

Mario looked out over the rolling hills to the various hat ships that had been torn to ruins. Mario felt his heart pang in sympathy. He knew Bowser was ruthless, but he usually avoided hurting innocent people if he could help it.

Mario grit his teeth, feeling fire on his fingertips, "This is low, even for him."

Cappy stopped at a groove in the grass that appeared as if a ship had crash-landed there, "And he took Tiara away from me. The poor girl must be scared out of her mind! We have to rescue her!"

"Bowser took my friend, too." Mario explained, "He said something about marriage, but I wasn't really listening."

"Really?" Cappy sparkled, his glow brightening some, "Since we both need to stop Bowser, why don't we team up!? Maybe we'll find your brother too!"

Mario nodded, reaching for his hat, but finding it mysteriously absent, "Huh?"

"Are you looking for this?" Cappy held up a torn piece of fabric, Mario's embroidered "M" on the front.

"Oh no!" Mario hung his head, "My mama made me that hat..."

"Hey! No worries!" Cappy held the fabric scrap up to the light, twirling in the air and exploding in a ball of light, _"Cappy!"_

He emerged as Mario's iconic cap, falling to rest on Mario's head, and Mario grinned as he adjusted him over his hair. Gripping Cappy's brim tight in his fist, he threw him through the air, and Cappy cried out in joy until he came back around and Mario caught him once again, pulling him over his forehead.

"Wowie!" Mario marvelled, "What else can you do?"

"I'll show you!" Cappy shifted, excitement alight in his voice, "Now, where should we go?"

Mario cast his gaze over the distressed hat people around him, "We should find my brother first. Bowser is unlikely to hurt Peach or Tiara, but Luigi is most certainly hurt."

"Okay!" Cappy tipped closer to Mario's right ear, "He's likely in the city. That's where Bowser's barrage came from."

Mario headed off in that direction, "These buildings are so tall! We'll never find him!"

"Don't worry! The city is deceptively small! There are only thirteen buildings, and only six of them are tall enough to count as skyscrapers!"

Mario found the paved road soon after. The streets were empty, save for some power lines that sparked occasionally and a couple hard hats attempting to control the damage. The buildings were bright inside, indicating that everyone had headed indoors to avoid the attack. Luckily, none of the buildings themselves were damaged, except near the roof of each.

Taking off down the street, Mario tried not to think about where Luigi could have landed.

***


	2. Chapter 2

"Luigi!" Mario called as he walked, "Luigi, if you can hear me, please answer!"

Cappy gazed at the buildings and empty streets, "Yeesh. It's usually so lively. I hope people don't have too much trouble rebuilding."

Mario nodded in agreement, "Luigi!"

He came upon a river with more rolling hills beyond it. In between two of these hills was a shock of bright green.

Mario broke into a run, wading through the river and hurrying to the figure. Luigi had fallen onto his side, his skin pale and sweaty. He was unconscious, and his whole sleeve had been burned away, revealing red, raw skin.

"Oh my gosh!" Cappy reverted to his top hat form as he hovered over Luigi, "He's in worse shape than you!"

Mario shook him, "Luigi? Luigi, wake up!"

Luigi groaned as he squinted, letting out a breath of air, "Mario?"

Mario took Luigi's hand, which was cold from his magic, "Luigi, get up."

Luigi fought against him, "Five more minutes..."

"No! I'll let you sleep after I help you!"

"Help me with-!" Luigi's eyes snapped open as he sat bolt upright, "Peach! She was taken by Bowser! Ouch!"

"Hey hey," Mario brushed his fingertips over the burn that covered Luigi's forearm, "Can you still use magic? You need to ice this burn."

Luigi coated the burn with a thin sheet of ice, "Ow! Oh jeez, that hurts..."

"It was probably worse because of how Bowser burned through your shield." Mario helped him stand up, and Cappy returned to his head.

"Ohh..." Luigi swayed, and Mario stepped in to hold him up, "Thanks, bro. I felt a little woozy there for a second. You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm mostly just tired." Mario shook the numb feeling from his fingers, "I think I'm at my magic limit."

"God, where's Peach when you need her?" Luigi caught the eyes on Mario's hat, "Who's that?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Mario took Cappy's brim, "This is Cappy!"

"Hello!"

"Oh, for a second, I thought I'd seen a ghost!" Luigi huffed out a laugh, "Where are we?"

"You're in The Cap Kingdom!" Cappy exclaimed, "A place full of sentient hats!"

Mario and Luigi began to walk, finding a bridge over the river and coming across a path back onto the paved roads. Luigi cringed as he gazed over the landscape, and Mario could only guess what he was thinking.

"Where's Bowser?" Luigi's eyes began to glow ice-blue, "I'll destroy him for taking Peach again!"

"He went towards the Cascade Kingdom!" Cappy tilted back on Mario's head, "Look up there. See the giant hat building?"

The brothers gazed ahead at the sophisticated landmark, which was surrounded by a fence and a moat of water.

"That's got a powerline on it!" Cappy settled himself on Mario's head, "I'll bet we could get ourselves a working airship on the way! Let's go!"

Mario nodded, "Race you there, bro?"

Luigi smiled weakly, "Maybe later. I'm all kinds of hurt after that fall."

"Fair. Leisurely stroll it is."

There were a few goombas trying to guard the building, but Mario and Luigi just jumped over them, heading across the bridge and in through the front door.

The inside was nothing like they were expecting. The floor was covered in water, with platforms that went up several stories-worth to a door at the top, presumably leading up to the brim of the hat on the building.

"Whoa." Luigi touched the white, featureless wall, "Trippy."

The first platform was way high up, but Mario tried to jump to it anyway. He jumped off the wall when he fell short, but regardless, it wasn't high enough to get to the top.

Luigi kicked the tall platform, "No footholds, either. What do we do?"

Cappy shifted again, "There!"

Mario turned. There were frogs swimming on the surface of the water nearby.

"Um..." Mario shrugged at Cappy's giddiness.

"You asked what else I could do, right?" Cappy said in reply, "Throw me!"

He complied, tossing Cappy so he connected with the frog, and he fell over the frog's head. He tilted his brim up, and Mario found himself floating into the air, dissolving and disappearing into the frog's head. Swirling around in a vortex of color, Mario's senses dulled, his head feeling like it was stuffed with cotton, until they suddenly sharpened again and he was looking through new eyes.

He blinked, looking up at Luigi, who was suddenly a lot taller than he remembered. He then looked at his arms, which were green, webbed, and tipped with suckers. He let out a shocked, "Ribbit?" before he realized what had happened.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Luigi fell backwards into the water.

"Ribb-igi!?" Mario hopped to the edge.

Luigi swam to the surface, "Mario!?" he pulled himself out to sit beside him, "Did you...did you just _possess_ a frog!?"

"Uhhh..." Mario said, "Maybe?"

"This is called capturing!" Cappy proclaimed proudly, "All of us hats can do it! I'll bet now you can jump high enough to make it to that platform!"

Mario looked up at the top of the platform. He hopped over to it, and then he jumped as high as he could. He sailed into the air, just clearing the height of the platform.

"Hey!" Luigi called from below, "Not bad!"

Mario left the frog's head, a little dazed from the experience.

"Nice job!" Cappy reverted to his top hat form, flying down to Luigi, "You wanna try?"

Luigi gripped his hat close to his head, "You won't c-capture _me,_ right?"

Cappy put a stubby arm to where his heart would be, "I'd only capture you to save your life, I swear."

"Well, okay..."

"Lemme see your hat?"

Luigi handed it over, and Cappy took its form.

"Heh hey!" Luigi took his hat back and pocketed it, "I was wondering how you looked like Mario's hat!"

Cappy fell atop his head, "Ready?"

Luigi took his brim in his hand, throwing it at another frog and jumping even higher than Mario before landing beside him. No wonder Luigi could tell that Mario was in control before; Luigi's blue eyes and smooth moustache were on the frog.

Luigi left the frog, which lay dazed and confused, "Whew! Most intense game of leapfrog I've ever played, eh Mario?"

Mario playfully punched his uninjured arm, "Are you really going to make a joke like that?"

"I just did."

Mario rolled his eyes, "Well, let's get to the top of this building, I guess."

"Yeah." Luigi brushed past him, "Let's."

***

Outside on the roof, Mario and Luigi climbed the stairs from the brim to the top of the top hat roof. Cappy had settled on Mario's head as Luigi chatted away, trying to talk about anything that wasn't related to Bowser or Peach. Whenever the topic of their mission came up, he would grow somber, and then change the subject.

Halfway up the stairs, Cappy decided to contribute to the conversation, "How long have you guys been doing magic?"

Luigi beamed, "Our whole lives. It runs in our family."

"We weren't expecting such basic elemental powers." Mario added, "Although, siblings, especially twins, do have a tendency to have opposing powers."

"So..." Cappy turned on Mario's head to better face Luigi, "Mario can do fire and Luigi can do ice?"

"That's right!" Luigi summoned a snowball in his palm, "We still need a lot of practice, but we've gotten good at it! You'll never know how satisfying it is to make it snow in July!"

Cappy's eyes went as wide as dinner plates, "You can do that!?"

Luigi tossed the snowball at a snowman sculpture, and it landed in the bucket in its stick hand, "Only in a small local area, but yeah! It's _perfect_ for impromptu snowball fights!"

"Whoa!" Cappy said, "So Mario, what can _you_ do?"

Mario thought about it, shuttering just a little bit, "Well, I can summon fireballs and light fireplaces, create meteor showers, light the floor up with hot coals, remotely burn things and heat them up..."

"So your hot cocoa never goes cold?"

"As far as anyone else can tell, yes." Mario put a finger to his lips, and Cappy winked in reply.

They made it to the top of the staircase, and Luigi's smile fell as he gazed at the encroaching sunrise in the distance.

"Luigi..." Mario turned him towards himself, "Listen, I know you don't want to talk about this, but Peach's kidnapping was not your fault."

"But I _almost had him_ this time, bro! I was _so close!"_ he gave a shuddering sigh, "I should have known he was going to melt my shield. I shouldn't have gotten so distracted from that burn. I'm sorry."

"Luigi, don't!" Mario grabbed his arms to force him upright, "Peach's kidnapping was _Bowser's_ fault! _He's_ the one who hurt you and took her away! Don't you dare feel guilty because the pain of your skin melting off was too much to watch for another attack! Please, Luigi. You always do this, and it's getting old."

Luigi bit his lip, the ice in his eyes betraying his emotions, "But..."

"No, don't say anything." Mario gave his shoulder a squeeze, "Let's just focus on getting her back. You'll be her hero. She would never want you to blame yourself for this and you know it. Understand?"

Luigi smiled, "Yeah. Okay."

"Good." Mario headed across the roof, "Now Cappy, what did you say was up here?"

"Huh?" Cappy left Mario's head, gazing at a spot on the roof, "It should be right here..."

The sound of airship propellers brought their attention to the sky. Mario jumped in front of Luigi to shield him while Cappy returned to Mario's head.

It was a Bowser airship, naturally, but the four figures atop the deck were unfamiliar to them. They were white rabbits wearing formal attire in different bright colors, each with a top hat on their heads.

The shortest of the bunch, dressed all in green, addressed them first, "You're Mario and Luigi, right!?"

"Of course they are, Topper!" the one in a purple dress put both hands on her hips, "That red and green and those awful moustaches!? It's unmistakable!"

"You lot are causing the boss a lot of trouble!" the tallest and thinnest, dressed in yellow, spoke from the back, "We're his wedding planners, you see?"

The final one, a large brute in blue, spoke last, "Prepare to be squashed by us! The Broodals!"

Luigi already had ice flowing to his fingertips, "We'd like to see you try!"

The rabbit in green, Topper, bounded from the ship, which sailed off into the distance, "Face it, chumps! Boss's plans are too far along for you to stop him! He's already got the venue and everything!"

Luigi threw an experimental iceball at Topper, but it shattered upon touching him, "Whuh oh. Not good."

"Is that all you got!?" Topper twirled, and a whole tower of green hats appeared atop his head, "This'll be a piece of cake!"

"No magic!" Mario took his arm, "Just run!"

Topper began to toss the hats at them, and they bounced off the magic walls of the arena he'd created on the roof. The hats would stick around forever unless they were knocked away, whether with a Cappy throw or a well-placed attack. They flew off when Luigi hit them with iceballs as well, but there were too many to justify the use of magic, so he stuck to punches and kicks.

"Ah! I got it!" Mario repeatedly threw Cappy at Topper, and each hit got his tower closer and closer to zero, "Luigi! Get ready!"

Luigi jumped onto one of the flying hats, kicking it so it sailed into the air, "Ready!"

As soon as Mario had flicked away the final hat on Topper's head, Luigi came crashing down on top of him, squashing his head with the soles of his shoes.

"AH!" Topper fell onto his back as Luigi flipped away, "Why you little! I'll get you for this, you stupid party crashers! I'll-!"

He ran out of breath, his eyes spiraling dizzily, until he passed out and disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a cluster of shining power moons. An electrical pole appeared, its wire going off into the distance.

"Woo!" Cappy cheered, "Great job, guys! Have you done this before?"

"You could say that." Mario stretched his arms, "Are you okay, Luigi?"

"Yeah." Luigi kicked one of the leftover hats aside, "Yeesh, I haven't known someone who could deflect my iceballs like that since, what, Bouldergeist?"

"Bouldergeist was an important exception, I feel." Mario took the moon cluster in his hands, "Whoooa..."

"It feels just like a grand star..." Luigi relaxed as the moon transferred that familiar coolness to his fingertips, all the way down to his ice core.

"Power moons are magically identical to power stars." Mario pocketed the multi-moon, walking until he stopped at the pole, "So, Cappy, you can get us to the next kingdom through this wire?"

"Yep! You'll have to hold onto Luigi when you throw me though, or he'll be left behind!"

Mario took Luigi's hand and gave it a squeeze, "Like this?"

"Totally!"

So Mario threw Cappy with his free hand, and the two men disappeared into the electricity of the wire. One flick, and they sailed into the air through the wire, crackling through the clouds as they went, until the sun was upon them like a sudden lens flare.

***


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as the wire ended, Mario and Luigi fell over each other, tripping on their own feet as they came crashing down. Mario received a face-full of dirt while Luigi landed hard on his back, his legs draping over a rock in the landscape.

Mario recovered first, wiping the dirt and grass from his face, "Luigi?"

"I'm fine." Luigi twisted his body around to push himself up, "Ouch. I'm sure I'll feel that tomorrow."

Mario offered a hand to him, and they stood up together. Luigi brushed the dirt from his overalls, retrieving his hat from his pocket and using it to shield his eyes from the sun, "Whoa!"

Mario gaped alongside him. They were staring at a massive waterfall atop a grassy glade. The waterfall ended at a river, which continued into the distance until it disappeared between the mountains.

"It's beautiful here." Luigi took a breath of the cool, damp air, "Where are we?"

"You're in the Cascade Kingdom!" Cappy proclaimed, "This area is known as Fossil Falls! Breathtaking, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." Mario adjusted the cap on his head, who was practically vibrating with excitement, "So, you said there was an airship here?"

"Oh! Yes!" Cappy nudged Mario's forehead, "Get across that river, and I'll show you!"

The river was blocked by a chain chomp, a huge log stuck upright into the earth behind it. Gesturing for Luigi to stand back, Mario captured the chain chomp, pulling back on the chain and flicking back as he jumped from it. The chomp sailed into the log, breaking its chain and causing the log to come crashing down over the river, creating a bridge as the chomp escaped.

Luigi whistled, "This capture thing has so many possibilities!"

Mario crossed the new bridge created by the log, "Hey, this water is pretty calm. I bet we could swim through it."

Luigi put his hand in the water, "I'd better go in. It's pretty cold. You go ahead to the ship."

"Okay." Mario made it to the opposite bank, "Don't get lost!"

"Hey! That was one time!"

Mario laughed as Luigi dove into the water, swimming towards the waterfall before he disappeared beneath the reflection of the sun on the water. Mario headed up the path, and stopped at an old airship painted red with a globe on it.

"Throw me at the globe." Cappy instructed, and when Mario did, the multi-moon he was holding broke apart into three regular moons, disappearing inside the airship, "Whoa, we need four."

"We need four?"

Cappy returned to his head, "Yeah. Let's catch up with your brother."

Mario peered into the water, watching for the green of Luigi's sweater and cap. Luigi's head broke the surface, and he took a huge breath of air.

"Hey bro." Luigi climbed out of the water, "Check out what I found in the water!"

He held up a yellow power moon, and Mario nodded, "That's four, then!"

"Great! Add it to the ship!" Cappy said.

Luigi held the power moon out to the broken ship, and it also vanished as the ship roared to life. The brothers boarded it, and it sailed into the air.

Cappy transformed into a captain's hat, and Mario smiled as he tipped the new form.

"Wow. It suits you, bro." Luigi gazed out over the railing, watching the falls disappear beneath the rolling clouds.

"Thank you." Mario opened the door, "Ladies first?"

Luigi snorted, shoving him through the open door and closing it behind them, "Shut up!"

The inside of the airship was cozy, with two armchairs and an end table between them. There were three round windows all on opposite sides from each other, and the wallpaper and carpet was an innocuous ivory color.

"Welcome to the Odyssey!" Cappy gave them a bow, "I'm glad it was still here! And it's in great shape!"

Luigi pressed his nose to the glass of the window, "Whoa. We're so high up."

"Naturally. We need to catch up with Bowser." Cappy returned to Mario's head, "According to foresight, he's heading towards the Luncheon Kingdom next, so we're heading in that direction."

Luigi steered Mario towards one of the armchairs, "Mario, you should rest."

"No, I'm fine." Mario gently broke away from his hold, "You know me."

"Yeah, but you really overused your powers back there. Just rest for a minute."

Mario shook his head, "But what about you?"

"I'll rest for a bit too." Luigi replied softly, "I'm sure Cappy will be happy to wake us up when we get there."

"You bet!"

Mario sighed, "Well...alright, I'll rest for a bit."

"Cool."

Mario sat in one of the armchairs, leaning back and closing his eyes. Luigi took the seat across from him, rolling his sleeve back to look at his burn before crossing his ankles and resting his hands in his lap.

Cappy gazed out the window, listening for the telltale sounds of danger that might appear at any moment.

***

"Ouch!" Luigi held back tears.

"I'm sorry. Here, just hold still."

Mario swept a hand over Luigi's arm, trying to transfer heat away from it and ease the pain. He wasn't good at healing, but he hoped he could at least make the injury more bearable.

"Okay, guys. We're almost there." Cappy headed back towards them from the window, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Luigi inhaled, "Although, Bowser's fire really hurts when he burns through my ice. Ugh!"

"Almost got it..." Mario wrapped Luigi's forearm in a loose scrap of cloth to protect it from further damage, "There. Take it easy until we can find a healer."

"Yeah." Luigi stood from the armchair, "How much farther, Cappy?"

Cappy returned to his perch on Mario's head, "Almost. Just a few more minutes, and-!"

_BOOM!_

Mario and Luigi flew into the wall of the airship, and they began to rapidly descend.

"We're gonna crash!" Cappy huddled into the brothers' arms, _"Hold on!"_

They all held onto each other as the ship went down, falling faster and faster until they crashed into the ground.

When Mario came to, it was completely dark. He sat up, shaking Luigi until he blinked, gasping in shock.

Cappy floated to the door, "Guys! Look outside!"

The three of them quickly left the Odyssey, and they found themselves in a blackened glade. Dark palm trees and wide-leafed plants surrounded them on all sides, covered in foliage with a backdrop of purple poison in the lakes and rivers.

"Oh no!" Cappy flew around in a circle above their heads, "We just got this ship back and now we need more moons!?"

"Maybe we can find some around here." Luigi stumbled, "Come on. Let's look."

A fireball fell out of the sky and struck Luigi in the head. He screamed as he pat the fire down, grabbing his hat to wave it in the air. The threads came undone, and the scorched hat flew apart at the seams.

"No!" Luigi gathered the ruined fabric in his hands, "My hat! _My haaat!"_

"I told you to stay away!"

Bowser landed in front of them, dressed in a fancy white tailored suit. Behind him, Peach stood on one of the smaller airships, gripping the mast to keep her balance as she wore a wedding dress.

Luigi squeezed his hat in his fists, angry tears in his eyes, "Bowser!"

"I already destroyed Mario's hat!" Bowser laughed, "I figured I'd extend the courtesy to you!"

Luigi gathered a concentrated ice storm in his hands, "That will be your last mistake, you overgrown reptile!"

"I'd like to see you _try_ to beat me!"

Peach called out to them, "Mario! Luigi!"

Luigi charged at Bowser, and Mario fell back to watch them attack each other. He headed off to the side when Bowser threw his giant top hat. Just before it connected with Luigi, Mario threw Cappy at it to flip it over. In a stroke of inspiration, Mario threw the hat over his own head, and it grew mechanical arms with boxing gloves on each side.

"Wow!" Luigi fell back, "Go, bro!"

"Hey! You can't do that!" Bowser launched a fireball at Mario, which he deflected with a fire shield.

Luigi landed on the airship beside Peach, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Peach kissed his cheek, "I'm so happy to see you! Are you hurt?"

"I'll be fine, but we need to get you out of here!" Luigi took her hand to help her step down, "Come on!"

"Stop!" Bowser launched fireball after fireball, "Give that back!"

Mario deflected each fireball as he leapt forward, throwing punches from the hat until Bowser was stunned back into the airship. The force threw Peach and Luigi to the ground, and Bowser snatched his hat back while Mario put up a wall of fire to block his path.

Luigi hoisted Peach to her feet, "Peach?"

"I'm okay."

The two brothers stood in front of Peach to block Bowser's path, and Bowser laughed low under his breath.

"Clever. Using my own hat against me." Bowser tipped said hat over his brow, "But it won't matter. Soon, Peach will be my bride, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

Bowser stomped on the ground, and the Broodals' airship appeared to snatch Peach from the ground.

"Stop! Let me go!"

"Peach!" Luigi threw a beam of ice at the ground to aid in his flutter jump, but the three remaining Broodals knocked him back, and he landed on his stomach.

"Good luck getting out of here!"

And before they knew it, Bowser was gone.

_"Dammit!"_ Luigi kicked a rock across the bumpy ground, "He's the one who attacked us first!"

"Luigi." Mario put a hand on his shoulder, "At ease."

Luigi took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "This is so annoying."

"I know."

Cappy flew into the air, sagging as if under some invisible weight, "Did you see the tiara that Peach was wearing!? That was my sister!"

Now that Mario was thinking about it, he did recall Peach without her usual golden crown.

"I didn't, but I guess now I know why you're in this." Luigi let a few snowflakes fall from his hand, "It's not fair! Even when Bowser loses, he somehow gets his way anyway."

"We'll get them back." Mario headed deeper into the woods, "I swear. We always do, remember?"

Luigi adjusted his makeshift bandage before following behind him, "I know. It's still frustrating, though." he paused, "Huh?"

Mario scrutinized him, "What's wrong?"

Luigi cocked his head, "Do you hear that?"

Mario listened. He did hear something in the bushes nearby. It sounded like a crying woman.

Luigi krept closer to the sound, brushing the leaves aside and peering through the darkness. A gray bowler hat with striking purple eyes was sobbing into her tiny arms, big fat tears dripping one by one to the ground.

Cappy flew to her, "Lucy!"

Lucy twirled into the air with him, "Cappy! Goodness gracious, what on earth are you doing here!?"

"Tiara got kidnapped by this big monster called Bowser!" Cappy explained, "These guys are travelling with me so we can get her and their friend back! What are you doing here!"

"I saw Tiara get taken away! I tried to save her!" Lucy swayed, "It was so spooky! I don't know how I got stranded here, but I thought I'd be out here forever!"

"Hey, no worries! We just need to get some power moons and we'll be home free!"

"How many?"

"Three should be enough."

"Oh!" Lucy held a multi-moon up to the moonlight, "Bowser dropped this when he escaped with Tiara!"

"Perfect!" Cappy swept it up, "Let's head back to the Odyssey!"

On the way down the path, Luigi held his ruined hat close to his chest, sighing as he fell behind the other three.

Lucy floated in front of him, "You okay?"

Luigi looked at the embroidered "L" on his scorched cap, "Bowser ruined my hat."

Lucy took the pieces in her hands, twirling into the air to take the form of the cap. She fell onto his head, and he basked in the feeling of having his familiar comfort item.

"Yeah!" Luigi gave Lucy an experimental throw, catching her when she flew back towards him, "Awesome! Thank you thank you _thank you!"_

"You're very welcome!"

Once in the air again, Cappy steered the ship towards their next destination, "Okay, if we get shot out of the sky again, I'll take the wheel and crash us into Bowser!"

"That's a terrible idea!" Luigi flopped onto one of the armchairs, "How about I surround the ship in an ice vortex and steer us myself!"

"Also a terrible idea!" Lucy sank so she brushed against Luigi's ears, "We might as well abandon ship at that point!"

"Guys!" Mario sat in the other armchair, "Let's not get in a twist over this!" he reached for Luigi's arm, and he handed it over without a second thought, "Does it still hurt?"

"No. It just feels a little stiff."

Mario undid the bandage to survey the burn. It was healing, but not as fast as he would have liked, "Have you been icing it?"

"Kinda hard to forget when it hurts to leave it warm."

"Good. That should help a little bit." Mario rewrapped the injury, "Try not to use your magic too much unless you really need it, okay? We've both used more magic today than we should have."

Luigi yawned, "Yeah. It's been a long day."

"Okay. Hold onto your hats." Cappy laughed at his own joke, "We'll be there shortly."

***


	4. Chapter 4

Surrounded by a sea of pink molten candy, the Odyssey landed in a salt pile on the cracker island. Luigi left the ship first, already wiping sweat from his forehead, as he swept his gaze over the world.

"Yikes..." Luigi tugged on the collar of his sweater, "I knew I should've worn something cooler today..."

Cappy raised an eyebrow at him, "You just got here."

"Luigi is sensitive to the heat because of his ice core." Mario explained, "I'm sensitive to the cold for the same reason."

"I hope we don't stay here too long." Luigi stuck his tongue out.

"Hang in there, Weegee." Mario pat him on the back, "This place is famous for its food, remember?"

"Silver lining." he replied.

It looked like this was also a place that Bowser had trashed. The fork people were scrambling around with toppled soup bowls and utensils, turnips and potatoes, various spices, and a range of fruits and vegetables.

Mario led Luigi forward through the chaos, "Excuse me?"

"Oh! Hello!" one of the forks dropped a whole arm full of spoons, "Oh dear!"

"Let me help you with that." Mario scooped them up and handed them back, "What did Bowser do this time?"

"Is that his name? All I know is that he stole our world-famous soup! Something about a wedding! There's a white rabbit up there who claims to be a pyrotechnician, whatever that is. It's messing up all our work, though."

Luigi slumped over, "Oh joy, a pyrotechnician."

As Mario led the small group up the cracker ramp, trudging through piles of salt, Lucy thought to ask, "What's a pyrotechnician?"

"Pyrotechnics is the art of making flashy special effects with fire." Cappy explained, "If these Broodals really are wedding planners like they claim, it doesn't surprise me that one of them would be involved in it, especially considering Bowser's, ah, theatrical nature."

"You can say that again..." Luigi fanned his face, "Well, we need another multi-moon to continue, so we might as well find this Broodal."

"Hey, Luigi, will you be okay?" Mario stopped him in his tracks, "You look a little flushed."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Luigi shook his head, "I'm a little light-headed, though. Maybe I should sit down."

"Oh! Hold on!" Lucy pointed out the fireballs leaping in and out of the molten candy, "Capture one of those!"

Luigi opened his mouth, "That, uh...that doesn't seem like a good idea..."

"Trust me! You gain all the abilities and attributes of the creatures you capture!" Lucy settled on his head, "Just do it! You'll see!"

"Well, okay..." Luigi tossed her at one of the fireball creatures, and he disappeared inside of it.

"Luigi?" Mario peered down at the tiny dot eyes, now tinted blue instead of black, framed by Luigi's nose and moustache.

"He can't talk like this." Lucy explained, "But it suits him, don't you think?"

"You look good in red, Luigi." Mario agreed.

Luigi came out to land on the ground, "Nice! _That_ should be useful!"

As they climbed the cliff towards the giant pot of soup, their idle chatter quieted. Luigi stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked, his gaze tracing the patterns of salt on the ground.

They had made it all the way to the peak before Mario finally stopped him, "Okay, what's wrong?"

"Huh?" Luigi sighed, "Oh, I was just thinking. Bowser is probably justifying his sham wedding by uniting the Mushroom and Koopa Kingdoms under one reign..."

Mario nodded when he trailed off, "And...?"

"Well...I just..." Luigi scratched his head, "Do you think Peach would ever want to marry me?"

"What? Luigi, where did _that_ come from?" Mario held his arms out to him, "You've only been dating her for less than a year."

"I know, but this whole thing just had me thinking about it." Luigi hugged himself, "I know it's pointless to think about something like that so early on, but...I...I don't think I..."

He pulled Lucy down over his eyes.

Mario waited for him to finish, but he never did, "You don't think...?"

"Sorry, I...I don't think I want to marry Peach..."

Mario tried not to react too badly to the news, but judging from Luigi's flinch, he'd been unsuccessful, "Because...?"

"Because I don't want to be king."

Mario's eyes squeezed shut as a painful jab hit him in the chest. How had he been so clueless? Dating royalty always came with that possibility. That expectation. After all, an heir would be needed someday, and the stork would only deliver to pairs of people, never one.

Mario opened his eyes to see that Luigi was on the verge of tears, "How long have you been thinking about this?"

Luigi sniffed, wiping his eyes, "Awhile. At least since Bowser started planning this whole thing. I just...I love her, Mario. I love her with all my heart, and yet the idea of going all in makes me want to run and hide. I want her by my side, but I don't want her title, you know?"

Mario took his hands, "You're afraid she'll look elsewhere for an heir."

Luigi choked back a sob, _"Yeah."_

Mario's vision grew fuzzy as he hugged his brother, resting his head on his shoulder and rubbing calming circles into his back.

When Luigi's sniffles had calmed, Mario asked, "Have you talked to Peach about this?"

Luigi deflated, "No..."

"You should." Mario pulled back to look him in the eye, "If you're afraid of her leaving you, then that's a sign that you need to talk."

"But what if she confirms my fears?"

"We've known Peach since we were babies. I highly doubt she would break your heart like that."

Luigi glared down at his shoes.

"You know I'm right."

"I know." Luigi broke away from him, "Sorry."

"It's okay." Mario led him further over the plateau that overlooked the pot of soup, "Hey, if something's ever bothering you, you know you can talk to me."

"I know." Luigi paused near the edge, "Thanks, bro."

The bubbling pot below made Luigi tug on his collar again, but naturally it also made both of their mouths water. The steam that rose from the boiling soup had the most wonderful smell that defied explanation aside from the skill of the chefs.

Still, Luigi said what they were both thinking, "We'd better not fall in."

Mario nodded in agreement. His fire core made him resistant to heat, but that didn't mean he was immune.

"Looking for something?"

They both whirled around to face the new voice. It was the rabbit dressed in purple from before. She waved her arms and two spiked flails appeared on the ends of her blonde braids.

"Hariet, at your service." she beckoned them closer with one hand, "Boss wants me to get rid of you."

"Well that's not gonna happen!" Luigi knocked his fists together, drawing on ice that crackled in the air, "I hope you ordered a beat-down!"

The arena appeared once again, and Hariet began tossing the spike-covered balls at them. Everywhere they touched, pools of lava appeared on the ground, and Mario found himself distracted just to make sure Luigi didn't get hit. All the fire was clearly taking a toll on him, and his injury still loosely wrapped in cloth wasn't helping.

Mario threw Cappy into one of the balls coming towards him, knowing the hat wouldn't get hurt, and its trajectory changed, sailing into Hariet and knocking her hat off.

"Ack! You'll pay for that!" she stomped her feet indignantly, creating more pools of lava that were increasingly difficult to dodge.

Luigi slipped on one of them, and in his haste to put the fire out on his shoe, he tripped, sending him directly into the lava.

_"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"_

"LUIGI!" Mario reached a hand out, and the lava magically dispersed from his brother's skin. Confused, Luigi made eye contact with him.

Oh.

Mario internally smacked himself for being such an idiot. He had a fire core! He could control fire! Even though he was tired from calling on his own fire that day, he wouldn't need to do that to manipulate what he already had in front of him!

So, he gathered up all the lava that Hariet had thrown over the arena, and Luigi nearly fainted from relief. When Mario lifted the ball of magma above his head, Hariet's eyes practically bulged from their sockets.

"H-hey! I didn't know you could do that!" she pointed an accusatory finger at him, "That's not fair!"

"Well, you hurt my brother here, so we'll call it even." Mario surrounded her with her own fire, "Looks like there's no getting out of this one."

Realizing she really had hit a roadblock, Hariet sighed deeply, "You want my multi-moon? Fine! Take it!" she threw it at them, and with a snap of her fingers, she vanished, dispelling her barrier at the same time.

Mario tossed the lava aside, careful to keep it contained until it hardened back into rock, "Luigi? Are you okay?"

Luigi's sweater had been burnt away, revealing that his shoulders and back had been turned to blisters. Mario gently touched the raw skin, and Luigi let out a pained wheeze.

Mario began to draw some of the heat out, "Luigi, can you hear me? Does it hurt terribly?"

Luigi's tears froze into ice crystals as they fell from his face, "I've never been in this kind of pain before."

"I'm so sorry." Mario tried unsuccessfully to keep his voice from wavering, "I should have seen it sooner. I could have done that at any time, and instead I got you hurt."

"No, M-Mario." Luigi tried to turn his head, but found that he couldn't, "I forgot too. Don't blame yourself."

Mario kept one arm on Luigi's shoulder as he rummaged in his pockets, "Here."

Luigi took the offered object, "A red mushroom?"

"We don't have a lot, but you should eat that one now."

He could have thought to refuse, but the pain was clouding his judgement, so he ate the whole thing. The pain began to ease, and the blistering went down.

"I would have offered a green mushroom if we had one." Mario drew more heat from the wound until it resembled a bad sunburn, "There. It should be safe to ice now."

Luigi let ice rise to his skin, cooling it down and numbing the pain further. Mario let his magic recede, and with his help, Luigi got to his feet.

The whole time this was happening, Cappy and Lucy had reverted to their default forms, a white top hat and a gray bowler hat, while they stared in horror and disbelief. As soon as the brothers began to walk, they took the forms of the red and green caps and returned to their heads.

"So, uh, you guys ready to move on?" Cappy asked uneasily.

"Yeah. Sure." Mario held Luigi's hand as they returned to the Odyssey, and then to the sky.

Luigi watched the landscape disappear behind them, "She looked beautiful in that white dress, didn't she?"

He didn't elaborate, and nobody questioned him on it.

***


	5. Chapter 5

Mario opened his eyes to a dazzling sunrise. He didn't remember falling asleep, but he did remember being so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. The armchair opposite to his had a thin layer of frost over it as Luigi slept peacefully, the aloe gel along his burns getting tiny fractals all over them as the surface froze over.

Mario sat up, summoning a few flames in the palm of his hand. The fight with Bowser the previous morning had extinguished the warmth he was so used to, but now it was roaring hot like a brick oven. Mario let the warmth out all the way to his fingertips and toes, making rings of fire as he waited for Luigi to wake up.

"Whoa." Cappy had been dozing on his head until he felt the sudden shift in temperature, "Is it hot in here, or is it just me?"

Mario withdrew the fire, "That's me celebrating. You can go back to sleep."

Cappy stifled a yawn, "Nah, I've been up for hours."

"What are you doing?" Lucy landed in Mario's lap, "Wow!" she nuzzled into his chest, "You're super warm!"

Mario laughed, wrapping an arm around her, "That's my fire core you're feeling."

Lucy closed her eyes, "It's like being close to a campfire."

Cappy settled on the armrest, "Is Luigi not this warm?"

"No! He's freezing!" Lucy gestured towards the sleeping man in question, "Go see!"

Cappy took Luigi's green cap form before landing on his head, "Whoa, you're right. He's nice and cool."

"More like someone left him outside in the middle of January."

Mario held her up, "You wanna hang with me for awhile?"

"Yes please!" she landed on his head as the signature red cap, "You weren't this warm yesterday."

"That's because I'd already used it up by the time we met." Mario stood from the armchair to look outside the port-style window, "Sleeping replenishes magic much faster than just resting, so my fire core has recovered since then. This is how warm I am most of the time."

"No wonder being in the Luncheon Kingdom didn't bother you." Lucy watched the clouds roll by as the Odyssey lazily drifted through them.

Luigi yawned, sleepily mumbling, "Hey, bro."

"Hey." Mario brushed some of the frost from his forehead, "How'd you sleep?"

Luigi sank into the chair, "Good." he rubbed his eyes, "It still hurts, though."

Mario touched the burn across his shoulders, finding it cool to the touch, "Just keep it iced. It's still early in the morning, so I'll bet Bowser's forces are weaker."

Luigi sat bolt-upright, "I like the way you think, bro! Owie!"

"Hey, take it easy." Mario warmed the aloe on Luigi's skin until it returned to a liquid state, "We can probably take all this off, now. I have a new sweater for you, and I charmed it so it will protect you from the fire."

"Sweet!" Luigi created a layer of ice across his skin, lifting it up and dispelling it over the garbage can.

Mario handed him the charmed sweater, "It gets weaker the more fire it has to block, so be careful."

Luigi set Cappy aside so he could unbutton his overalls and pull the ruined sweater over his head, replacing it with the new one. It was slightly warm from the fire magic woven into the fabric. Satisfied, Luigi tucked it in before replacing the overall straps.

Cappy returned to his perch, "Better?"

"Much! Thanks, Mario!"

"No problem." Mario headed out onto the deck of the Odyssey, which had a rail all around it during flight, "Lucy, how much farther to Bowser's fleet?"

"A few miles. We'll have to pick up speed if we want to get there in any kind of timely manner."

"Then let's pick up speed." Mario glanced to the side when Luigi joined him by the rail, "Full speed ahead."

"Yessir!" Cappy drifted to the wheel, lurching them forward and looking for a place to land.

By the time the Odyssey landed, giant storm clouds had blotted out the sun, and it was raining fiercely. They had landed in a familiar city, a place where Mario had lived for some time doing contracting work. This was New Donk City.

"Brrr!" Mario stepped off into the water that gathered on the skyscraper rooftop, "It's cold out here!"

"No kidding." Luigi squinted against the rain drops that pelted them, "Where on earth did this storm come from? It's not raining outside the city at all."

"It must not be natural." Mario spotted a familiar figure nearby. She had long brown hair and wore a red suit with a red sun hat beneath a black umbrella. News reporters surrounded her, pointing their cameras off into the distance, "Pauline?"

She turned towards them, revealing dark blue eyes, "Mario! Luigi! Not that it isn't nice to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"We're here to stop a sham wedding." Luigi explained.

"The wedding?" Pauline rolled her eyes, "It's a joke. Bowser's not fooling anyone, and it's just become a catastrophe at this point. It's going to take place on the moon, where most people can't go anyway, so what's the point in flaunting it like this?"

"You know the word 'subtle' isn't really in Bowser's vocabulary." Mario replied dryly.

"That is certainly true." Pauline tapped one of her heels against the roof, "But he's taken it too far. Did you see that he has the Binding Band with him?"

Cappy gasped, "The treasured desert artifact that binds people forever!?"

"The very same." Pauline raised an eyebrow at the sentient hat, but didn't comment on him, "I would at least excuse it if Peach seemed excited about the whole thing, but she doesn't even look happy on those posters that Bowser keeps slapping over every wall of my city. I mean, who does he think he is!? He's just making himself look stupid!"

Luigi gazed out between her and the various news anchors, "What are you looking at?"

Pauline pointed out the power lines on the Empire Skyscraper, flagged by a barrage of airships, "Bowser's fleet is trying to hemorrhage the supply of power moons that we use to keep my city running. Without it, we have no power."

"Uh, ma'am." the man beside her said, "I mean no offense, but this isn't really your city. You're the mayor, not empress."

"And until my term is over, this is my city." she replied without missing a beat, "And I'm damn well going to protect it."

Mario watched the fleet for a moment before turning to her, "Don't worry, Pauline. Luigi and I will stop this."

"Thank you. I know I can count on you guys."

As the two of them hurried down the fire escape on the side of the building, Mario noticed that a couple of the raindrops froze into snowflakes before falling out of sight. Once they reached the sidewalk, Mario took Luigi's hand, which was ice-cold.

"Luigi?"

Luigi took a breath, "Bowser has the Binding Band. You know what that means."

Mario expected that to bother him, "Bowser stole it, I know. We'll get it back."

"Is he really so cruel?" Luigi took his hand back, shaking a few loose snowflakes off it, "The desert people keep it locked up for a reason. Is Bowser really going to bind Peach's soul to his forever? Doesn't he recognize how unhappy she would be?"

"Maybe he doesn't." Mario moved in front of him, "People can be blinded to the damage they cause because the idea of being wrong is too painful, but it doesn't matter. We _will_ stop him. Even if he hates us for ruining what he thinks is the perfect wedding, he won't get away with ruining Peach's life. You know that, don't you?"

The icy glow in Luigi's eyes faded slightly, "Yeah. You're right. Let's go save her."

The Empire Skyscraper was alight with electricity. Cappy and Lucy were able to bring them up through the power grid to the very top of the building. The storm was too thick to see properly, but Bowser's hulking form at the helm of the biggest airship was unmistakable. Luigi was about to go after him when Mario grabbed him, "Luigi, wait." he pointed to the port hole on one side of the smaller airship, where Peach held her bouquet of flowers inside.

"I'll go after Bowser." Mario explained, "You need to get Peach to safety."

"No way, bro! He'll roast you alive!"

"I can't let you fight him with your injury." Mario touched said injury to prove his point, as it made him wince in pain, "At least Peach will be able to heal you."

Luigi sighed in exasperation, "Fine. Be careful."

They separated, and Mario headed towards the wire that sucked the power moons from the city. He wrapped both hands around it and gave it a huge tug. The moons poured out of it, and the sun broke through the clouds.

"What the-!?" Bowser watched his arch nemesis as he jumped to the deck, "Mario!"

Mario landed, his hair crackling from the release of power in the wire.

"How could you do that!? I need those!"

"More than an entire city of people!?" Mario pointed a finger at him as sparks of electricity shot off his arm, "Unlikely!"

He would have to keep himself in check using this power. If he took too much, the city would be in danger all over again, and it might take a toll on his health as well. Luckily, electricity was close enough to fire for him to control, so he let it arch off his skin like some kind of tribute to Zeus.

Bowser shot a fireball at him, and he deflected it easily, "What kind of lowlife crashes a wedding!? That's tacky even for you!"

"And I'm just supposed to believe that your treatment of the Princess is acceptable!?" Mario jumped in the air, throwing down a bolt of lightning which Bowser dodged, "Don't make me laugh!"

"That's rich, coming from you!" Bowser clawed at him, "And you're a saint, is that correct!?"

"No, but at least I listen to her!" Mario cried out as Bowser's claws clipped his cheek and then his elbow, the latter of which threw him off balance.

 _"Mario! Focus!"_ Lucy lifted off his hairline to look up, _"You need to disperse this storm, not make it worse!"_

Mario threw up a fire shield just in time to get thrown backwards from Bowser's punch. His back hit the railing of the deck, and he wheezed as rainwater blinded him. He had just enough focus to throw out a wild punch in desperation, knowing that Bowser must be close, and a bolt of electricity shot out from his arm, making Bowser go flying.

Mario scrambled to his feet, his heart pounding in his ears and the new pain making it difficult to concentrate, but with Bowser incapacitated for the moment, he ran to the edge of the ship, gripping the wire that was still shooting power moons everywhere, and falling until he hit the ground and began running once more. Scooping up the moons by the hundreds, he plugged the wire into a socket near the town square, and the building lit up with power, followed by the few buildings surrounding it. The storm dispersed a little more, to the point where the late morning sun shone down on him and warmed his clammy skin. He hadn't realized just how cold he had been from the rain until he had feeling in his toes again.

"Wow. Nice job." Lucy turned, "But it's not over yet!"

Mario threw up another shield, and this time he stood his ground. Bowser's fist was coated in flames, and he was continuously pushing against Mario's shield with it. Mario's shoes slid across the wet pavement as he struggled to hold the barrier, but without the influx of power moons, he was slowly growing weaker.

"You know I wouldn't crash _your_ wedding, plumber!" Bowser pushed against him even harder.

"Ah!" Mario stumbled as he struggled to find traction on the street, "Maybe because I would never force someone to marry me!"

"Do you seriously not get it!?" Bowser backhanded Mario, sending him flying across the road.

Mario landed hard on his back, and he stood up shakily, spitting blood out of his mouth, "I get that you're being a bully!"

Bowser charged at him, and Mario jumped just before Bowser's fist would have hit him, landing a kick to his forehead and then to his gut. Bowser flew into a powerline, which shocked him, spilling more power moons into the square.

Bowser threw a bolt of lightning at him, which he deflected, "I'm not even trying to take over the world or the universe this time! I don't even want Peach's Kingdom anymore, I just want her!"

"And I would be fine with that if she loved you back!" Mario ran towards him, rolling under Bowser's arm and grabbing his tail to spin him into a stop sign, "But she doesn't! If you actually bothered to listen to her, you would know that!"

Bowser swung his fists three times. The first two Mario dodged with ease, but the third sent him flying into a park bench where he hit his head, falling to the ground and catching sight of his own blood left behind on the metal.

"You couldn't understand! How could you!?" Bowser lifted him by the shirt collar, "Have you ever loved someone!? Not like how you love your stupid brother, but the way I love Peach!?"

"Why does it matter!?"

"Have you!?"

"You can't justify-!"

"ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!"

"OF COURSE I HAVE!" Tears stung Mario's eyes as he threw his head back, trying to break Bowser's hold on him. Why did everything suddenly hurt so much? Why was his heart beating so fast?

"Then you understand that you'd do anything for them!" Bowser threw him into the wall of the nearby town hall, "Can't you have a little empathy!?"

Mario fell to the ground, too dazed to argue back.

"What are you doing!?" Lucy reverted to a bowler hat before tugging on his overall straps, "Get up! I can't fight him! Eek!"

She returned to his head as Bowser wrapped a hand around him, "Is that it? Are you jealous?"

Mario couldn't answer. His throat closed up. His limbs were shivering from the rain, cooling the furnace in his heart that he knew could protect him if only it stopped receding-!

"Well too bad! Peach belongs to me!" Bowser lifted his other hand, "Goodbye, and good riddance!"

The last thought he had as he stared at his possible doom was that hopefully Luigi had gotten away with the princess.

***


	6. Chapter 6

Luigi broke through the door of the airship, defeating the koopa troops that blocked the way.

"You know, you probably could have taken the window." Cappy remarked under his breath.

Luigi skidded around the corner, "Did you see the size of that porthole? I'm not making Peach climb through that in a borrowed dress!"

"I guess you're right, but battling through all these troops doesn't seem great either."

"Are you kidding me? This is nothing compared to what me and Mario usually face!" Luigi kicked a koopa shell into a row of goombas, making them all disappear, "You don't know true fear until you're in a thick forest full of boos. _Eugh!"_

"If you say so."

Luigi found the door he was looking for, quickly opening it only to watch a bouquet hit the door frame beside him.

"I told you, I'm not doing it!"

Luigi pushed the door the rest of the way open, "Peach, it's me!"

Peach's anger gave way to relief, "Luigi! I'm so happy to see you!"

Luigi hugged her, "Bowser didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, I'm fine."

The tiara on Peach's head flew into the air, her eyes the same dazzling shade of purple as the gem that decorated her silver frame, "Cappy!?"

Cappy caught her as she flew into him, "Tiara! Hahaha! You're okay! Woohoo!"

"I knew you'd come for me, Cappy!" she nuzzled into him, "I was afraid I'd never see you again!"

"Yeah yeah, sis!" Cappy laughed, holding her hands, "I'm happy to see you too! No need to get all mushy on me!"

Peach glanced into the hallway, "Where's Mario?"

"He's off fighting Bowser." Luigi waved her towards the door, "We'd better hurry back in case he needs backup."

"Wait." Peach blocked his path.

A little frustrated, Luigi snapped, "What?"

She took his head in her hands and kissed him on the lips. The stress melted away, and he let his eyes slip closed as he kissed her back.

Luigi sighed as he broke away, "I think I needed that."

She laughed into her hands, "You're so cute, Luigi."

"I am not!"

She brushed her bangs to the side, revealing the frost that stuck to them. Luigi blushed, turning to the doorway without another word. Cappy and Tiara trailed after them, and Peach noticed that they were giggling to themselves.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Cappy sheepishly scratched his brim, "We're huge suckers for romance."

Peach gave them an amused smile, "You are, huh?"

"I mean, yeah!" Tiara rolled her eyes, "We're wedding hats! It'd be a little awkward if we didn't like romance!"

"If you two are intended as a pair, then why didn't Bowser kidnap both of you?" Peach caught the door as Luigi opened it for her, "Wouldn't that have made more sense?"

"Honestly?" Cappy flipped upside-down, "I think anyone can tell even from a distance that I would never fit on Bowser's head without looking like a cheap Halloween decoration."

"Like those tiny top hats!?" Tiara squealed, "Those are so cute!"

"No they're not! They look stupid!"

Luigi squinted through the rain at the parting clouds above the square, "Cappy."

"Huh? Oh! Right!"

He returned to Luigi's head and Luigi gathered up Peach in his arms, "Yeesh! This dress is so heavy!"

"I know! I don't think it's intended to be worn except on an actual wedding day!"

Luigi stepped off the airship, falling through the air until he created a track beneath him out of ice, which he slid along until it shot him back up into the sky. He did a backflip, Peach still in his arms, and then he landed on the rooftop, his knees bent, where Pauline still stood with her umbrella.

"...and I don't want anyone to stop until this threat has been neutralized!" she was screaming into her phone, "Do I make myself clear!?"

_"Yes, Mayor Pauline!"_

"Good! Now hurry!" she hung up as Luigi set Peach on her feet, "Princess Peach!"

"Pauline!" Peach hugged her, "It's so good to see you again!"

"Likewise, your highness." Pauline looked her up and down, "You're not hurt?"

"No." Peach huddled under the umbrella beside her, "Oh! It's so terribly cold!"

Luigi took her hand to draw the cold away, "I'm sorry. I should have brought a change of clothes."

Pauline handed her umbrella to Peach so she could take off her red suit jacket, draping it over Peach's bare shoulders, "Bowser should be ashamed of himself for making you wear this."

"Right!?"

Luigi glanced between them when he heard screaming, "Look!"

The cameras all pointed to the battle currently taking place between Mario and Bowser. From the looks of it, Mario was losing, but he still put up a valiant fight.

"Pauline, keep an eye on Peach!" Luigi snatched Tiara out of the air, "Tiara, you can turn into other kinds of hats, right!?"

"Of course!"

"Then hide on one of these reporters' heads! Bowser would never suspect that!" he let go, and she complied, becoming a black fedora on the closest cameraman. When her eyes disappeared, she blended in perfectly, "Good. I'll be back!"

Peach called after him, "Luigi, wait!"

Luigi slid down the side of the building on his own ice, flipping off the tapered end and landing in a crouched position. He sprinted to Bowser as he was holding up his claws to end his brother once and for all, and Luigi's anger spiked. He gathered an iceball in his hands and threw it as hard as he could at Bowser's face.

It forced him to let go of his charge, and Mario jumped into him to throw him to the side, coughing blood up onto the sidewalk and wiping his mouth.

"You okay, Mario?"

"You both are insolent freaks!" Bowser launched another fireball, which Luigi deflected, "You ruined my suit!"

"I'll pay for it!" Luigi offered as the icy blue of his magic swirled all around him, "As soon as you call off this ridiculous wedding!"

"NEVER!"

Luigi dodged the swipe of Bowser's claws, shooting icicles from his wrists like darts to a dart board. One of them cut across Bowser's arm, spilling blood on the white suit jacket.

"You return the rest of the moons, Mario!" Luigi yelled to him, "I'll finish him off!"

Mario ran off, and Luigi created shields on both his arms, "You know what they say! The best offense is a good defense!"

He rammed the shield into Bowser's chin and then into his stomach, sending him crashing to the concrete. Bowser breathed out a steady stream of fire, but this time, Luigi was prepared. He called upon the wind and the rain, freezing it and sending it down as hail. It put out Bowser's fire before it could melt the shield. The ice core within his chest was like a tall glass of lemonade, sweet and refreshing among the scorching flames. Luigi stomped on the ground, freezing it until it reached Bowser and caused him to start slipping on the slick surface.

"Whoa!" Cappy's eyes were wide, "That is _so cool!_ You can do all of this!?"

"All of this and more!" Luigi's breath fogged in the air as he panted, "I can keep going for a long time, Bowser! Do you give up!?"

Bowser lay on his stomach, not even attempting to get back up until Luigi let up on the cold and the ice around them melted. The storm cleared up in the next moment, and The Empire Skyscraper stopped sparking. Mario turned the corner just as Bowser growled and Luigi smiled.

"Thought so."

Helicopters descended from the next kingdom over, and Bowser leapt to the nearest airship, "Retreat! Let's get out of here!"

Mario headed to Luigi's side. He almost made a huge mistake when he reached out to take Mario's hand, but he caught the sparks of electricity just in time to avoid getting painfully electrocuted.

"Mario?" Luigi looked into his eyes, but instead of sky blue, they were deep purple.

"Ah!" Lucy poofed into the air, and Mario slumped over, "I'm sorry! Mario passed out and I didn't know what to do! I'm sorry!"

Luigi caught him as the magic dispersed, and he laid him on his back, pressing an ear to his chest.

Pauline's heels clacked behind him, "Is he okay?"

Luigi held a hand up, quieting her. He listened tentatively, and sure enough, there was a steady _thump thump thump_ from inside his ribcage.

"He's fine." Luigi felt for Mario's core, but it had cooled considerably, "How long has he been struggling?"

"Um...the whole time?" Lucy drooped, "I don't know, I couldn't really tell what he was feeling."

Peach tried to run to them, but Pauline held her back, "Bowser will figure out that you're gone before long. We need to hide you."

"Then Mario's coming with us." Peach proclaimed, "Luigi, can you carry him?"

Luigi nodded, holding Mario with one arm supporting his head and the other beneath his knees. Pauline led them into the town hall, then up the stairs to the second floor.

"Oh, these blasted..." Peach stopped to take her shoes off, "One second..."

"Don't you usually wear heels?" Pauline asked.

"Yes, but these aren't my shoes. They may be the right size, but they don't fit me right." Peach held up one of the white shoes to the light, "And these heels are at least two and a half inches! I wouldn't dare wear heels that tall unless I knew I was staying in the castle all day!"

Pauline scrutinized her own one and a half inch heels, "Fair enough."

Once they'd made it to Pauline's office, she closed the curtains over the huge window and took her red sun hat off to reveal the tiara underneath.

"Cappy!" Tiara crashed into him once more, "Did you see that!? Did you see what Luigi did!?"

Luigi lay Mario on the floor, "Peach, help me."

She knelt on Mario's other side, a haze of pink mist extending from her hands to Mario, where it wrapped around his core and warmed it up again.

Peach moved her hand to Luigi's, still over Mario's heart, "You're hurt too."

His response was automatic, "Help him, first."

"He's fine." she touched his cheek, "But you aren't. Let me help you."

Luigi felt his pain ease considerably, and he couldn't bring himself to refuse again. Peach moved her hand to his back, letting the pink magic settle there as it began to repair the damage.

"Wow!" Lucy watched the swirl do its job, "You can do magic too!?"

"Yeah. Healing magic." Peach watched as Luigi's eyes closed, the tension leaving his body in waves, "It's standard, so it doesn't have an element like Mario and Luigi."

"You're a lifesaver." Luigi stood when Peach retracted her hands, "I hadn't realized how much it was bothering me."

"Well, now you're better." Peach said, "Try not to get yourself killed on my behalf, won't you?"

Luigi thought about it, "So it's fine if I get myself killed when it's _not_ on your behalf?"

Peach huffed, "Luigi, you know the answer to that!"

"Okay okay!" he laughed as he backed up in surrender, "I know. So then, Mario is okay?"

"He's fine, but he might not wake up for awhile."

Luigi leaned back against the wall, "Figures."

They sat in silence for the next few hours. Peach tried to stoke Mario's fire core in that time, but the rest of them just found ways to keep busy, even if that meant staring off into nothing and descending into madness.

Finally, after what felt to Luigi like an eternity, Mario woke up, coughing up blood into his sleeve.

***

"Mario!" Luigi practically fell beside him.

Mario's head hurt. He hadn't used much magic, or at least he thought he hadn't, but he had a pounding headache, as if he'd gone two days without sleep. He felt a hand on his chest, and he reached for it. Peach was trying to warm his core with her magic, and it was making him stronger.

"Mario, look at me."

Luigi had spoken. He didn't seem happy, though.

Mario found his voice, "Luigi?"

"What did you do?" Luigi demanded, "Don't think I didn't see that! You were drenched in moon power! I understand borrowing it, but if I had touched you in that state, _I would have died!"_

Peach gaped at him, "Luigi!"

"No! Now that I know he's okay, I'm _really_ angry!" Luigi grabbed Mario's shoulders, "You could have gotten yourself killed! Did you not realize that Bowser could draw from the same power as you!? Did you really think that shooting simple fireballs at a fire koopa would chip away at him enough to defeat him!? In a freezing cold thunderstorm!? _Without some kind of backup plan!?"_

Mario opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Nobody else thought to say anything while Luigi screamed.

_"You always do this!"_ frost crackled over Mario's red shirt as Luigi's grip grew even tighter, "As soon as you have your fire back, you go and lose it all! You charge directly into a situation without thinking about it first, and then I have to swoop in and save you at the end!"

"Luigi, enough!" Peach pushed him away.

Mario shook the frost off, "So what!? I got unlucky this time, Lucy can attest to that! She was there!"

Lucy cowered, "Please don't yell at me..."

"I do all of this because I want to help!" Mario stood to better face his brother, "Why does it matter to you how I do that!?"

"BECAUSE YOU SCARED ME!" Luigi's voice broke, and he began to sob.

One of Mario's heartstrings snapped, and he regretted saying anything at all. He stared at the ground, his throat too closed up to speak even if he wanted to.

"You scared me." Luigi took his hands between them, "You're my brother, Mario. I can't handle you putting yourself in danger all the time, especially for me. It could have really cost you your life this time. Please, just stop trying to play the hero for five minutes! We're a team, or at least we're _supposed_ to be!"

"Luigi, I'm sorry."

"You're sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry for scaring you!" Mario broke away from his hold, "And I'm sorry I don't take better care of myself! I can't help it, I want the people I care about to be safe. Is that so wrong?"

"What's wrong is that you seem to think you're invincible!" Luigi crossed his arms, "Do you just want us to be safe, or is that your ego getting the best of you?"

Ouch.

Peach yanked on his arm, "Luigi, that's enough! I don't know where this came from, but you need to knock it off!"

"Oh, okay. I see how it is." Luigi snatched his arm back, "Look, you're never there when Mario throws himself headlong into danger without thinking about the consequences first, and I know one of these days that his hot head will get us killed one day. It's just a matter of time."

Luigi sat on the floor, his head in his hands. He stayed like that for a long time.

He only looked up when he heard a quiet voice say, _"You're right."_

Tears fell from Mario's face to the floor. Peach made to comfort him, but he held up his hand to stop her.

Luigi's mouth opened, but then it shut just as quickly.

"You're right." Mario said louder, "I went too far. I burn through my magic like paper, and I thought I had control of the situation until it was too late."

"Why?" Luigi got to his feet, "You know I can handle _Bowser_ of all people."

"I know, Luigi."

"Then why-!?"

"I know full well how capable you are. This isn't about that." Mario took a breath, "But just because you can doesn't mean you should have to. I didn't want you to fight Bowser this time."

"But you lost control!" Luigi argued back seamlessly, "If I hadn't shown up when I did, you'd be a block of cinders right now! Why _shouldn't_ I help you in these situations!?"

"Because I..."

When he trailed off, Luigi finished for him, "Because you wanted to be the hero."

"No!" Mario sighed, "Okay, so maybe that was part of it, but it was mostly because you were already injured."

"Would you let me sit you out of fights if _you_ were injured?"

He didn't answer.

"Wow." Luigi's eyes got a dark shadow over them, "It's just like when you tried to leave me out of your adventures."

"Really? This again?" Mario walked backwards into Pauline's desk, "I already apologized for that! And I include you in things now!"

Luigi didn't drop his icy death glare, "Do you really?"

The three hats all looked between each other. Peach was frozen in shock. Pauline had a hand hovering over her office phone. All of them felt they had witnessed something that should have been private.

Luigi took the doorknob in his hand, "It's fine. Come get me when you're ready to talk about the mission."

And with that, the door closed behind him, the sound echoing too much in the confined space.

***


	7. Chapter 7

Mario sat on the roof of the Empire Skyscraper, looking out over the landscape at the setting sun. A white shape flew up from the ground, and Mario lifted his hand in a half-hearted greeting.

Cappy sat beside him on the edge of the pointed roof, the platform where the pole sat at the very top of the building at their backs.

"So...um..." Cappy twisted his ghostly hands together, "I hate to bring up...uh...all of that...but do you usually fight with Luigi like that?"

Mario cringed, but he tried his best to hide it, "No. The last major fight we had was at least a few years ago."

"Oh."

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I guess I was just concerned is all." Cappy shook himself, "Sorry. I'll leave you alone if you want."

"No, it's okay." Mario rested his head in his hands, "I could use some company that doesn't hate me right now."

"What was that all about, anyway? Why did Luigi snap at you like that?" Cappy looked away, embarrassed, "Er, you don't have to answer that."

Mario smiled, "He's just frustrated with me. See, Luigi has always been the more cautious of the two of us, even though we're both very adventurous, and I have this thing Peach likes to call my 'older brother instinct'. Even though Luigi and I are twins, I've always felt like the older brother. I'm also more of a daredevil than Luigi, and because he gets more obviously scared faster than I do, all of that leads to me trying to keep him out of danger." he leaned forward on his knees, "Of course, that often means leaving Luigi out of my adventures, or taking hits for him, and it makes him feel left out, or worse...it makes him feel like I don't believe in him."

"Oh." Cappy said simply, "Ouch."

"Yeah."

Cappy looked away, carefully forming his next words, "What did he say about you being a hero?"

Mario rubbed his forehead, "Cappy..."

"Sorry! Sorry!" he squeezed his eyes shut, "Let me know if I'm pressing too hard!"

Mario scratched his moustache, "Well, I can't blame you for being curious."

He took another breath of air before getting on one knee on the next platform down.

"Okay, before I tell you this, you have to promise that you won't interrupt me until I'm done. Okay? Do you promise?"

Cappy shapeshifted a zipper along his brim to zip it up, "Mm hm!"

"Good." Mario returned to his seat, "Well, Luigi says that I just have to be the hero all the time, and...well, he's right. The glory of chasing evil away and basking in the praise of the people I've saved gives me such an adrenaline rush. I like to do things alone partially so I can have all that praise to myself. Sometimes I feel like I could drown in that feeling."

"Mmfh!?"

"Shh! You promised!"

Cappy quieted, then he nodded.

Mario continued, "But I swear, it's not something I let cloud my judgement, and it's not something I would _ever_ use against Luigi. It's a feeling, nothing more."

When Cappy had the green light, he unzipped his 'mouth', "So why did Luigi use it against you?"

"Well..." Mario leaned back on the building, "Probably because he thinks it's my driving force. It's not. I just don't know how to explain to him that in a possible life-or-death situation...I would rather he made it out alive and not me. I don't want people to die for me. In fact, it's my greatest fear."

"So..." Cappy nudged him, "You want to die for other people instead?"

"I don't know!" Mario threw his hands up, startling the young hat, "I really don't know! I won't be here to see the aftermath I guess, and when you gain a reputation for being a hero, some _'lesser person'_ might see their death for my aid as a noble sacrifice, and I don't want that! I don't want anyone to die for me!"

He caught the tears as they fell from his face.

"If Luigi died because of some stupid mistake on my part..." Mario clutched his forehead, his fingers tangled in his bangs, "I just can't ever let that happen. Even if he hates me for it. Even if he decides he never wants to see me again, at least he'll be alive, and that's what matters to me."

"But if you keep pushing him away like that, then he's just going to fight back!" Cappy nudged him more insistently, and Mario turned to hug him, "Even if you cut him off, he'll still find a way to be a hero!"

"I know, but I can't risk..." Mario choked, "I can't lose him. I need him to be here to keep living."

"That's not a choice you can make for him!" Cappy flew in front of him, grasping either side of his face, "You can't force Luigi to stay out of danger while you go straight into it! That's not fair to either of you!"

"You weren't there when Bowser threw Luigi off his ship!"

"I didn't need to be!" Cappy let go of him, and Mario's head fell forward so it hung like a rag doll, "Listen, I understand you want to keep your brother safe, and that is very noble of you, but this self-destructive attitude you have isn't going to keep him safe. It's just going to drive a rift between the two of you. What if the roles were reversed? What if Luigi was the one wishing for self-sacrifice and pushing you to the sidelines all the time?"

Mario didn't answer. He just let more tears silently fall to the concrete beneath him.

"Ah, jeez." Cappy floated away from him, "I didn't mean to grill you like that. I may have overstepped my boundaries a little. I'll just leave you alone."

"Wait."

Cappy stopped, watching Mario's arm lift towards him.

"Don't go." Mario didn't look up at him, "Please. I don't want to be alone right now."

Cappy sighed, sitting beside him and leaning into his arm, "The stars are beautiful, aren't they?"

Mario didn't reply. He just continued to spiral as he imagined Luigi being consumed alive by his flames.

***

Luigi reentered Pauline's office with a heavy heart, but Mario was already gone. Turns out, he had left hours ago. Cappy was absent too, so Luigi only hoped that he wasn't doing too badly.

"Hey, guys." he closed the door behind him, "I'm sorry about that."

Peach led him further into the room, "You were holding that in for a long time, weren't you?"

"Yeah...still, I could have been a lot more tactful." Luigi fiddled with the hem of his sleeve, "In any case, you guys didn't need to see that, so I'm sorry."

He gathered his thoughts in the silence, trying to figure out what he would say when he inevitably saw his brother again. Nothing ended well in his head. He saw either himself or Mario starting another shouting match. He imagined Mario going off on his own without him, forcing him to stay behind again. The thought hurt more than he was expecting it to.

Peach was about to say something, but Luigi beat her to it, "Um, Peach...just to be clear...you, uh...you don't want to marry Bowser, right?"

"Of course I don't!" Peach took his hands and squeezed them, "Not even close! Why would I want to marry someone who only makes me miserable?"

Luigi bit his lip, "Okay, just making sure."

"Luigi..." Peach tilted his head up to look at her, "I don't love Bowser. I never have and I never will."

"Yeah, okay." Luigi took her hand out of the air, "I know how terribly selfish it sounds, but...I don't want anyone else to have you. I don't want to see you married off. I want you all to myself, and Bowser is trying to..."

"Luigi." she brushed a thumb over his cheek, "I love you. I don't think it's selfish. I would feel the same in your place."

Luigi didn't seem comforted, but he didn't elaborate on what he was feeling.

Pauline opened the curtains, making moonlight spill into the office, "You know Bowser won't give up. He's not simply going to abandon this disastrous excuse for a wedding."

Peach shook her head, "Don't remind me."

Luigi grasped Peach's hands again, "Love, I promise you; Bowser will not get away with this. We'll stop him somehow."

Peach smiled softly at him, "When did you start calling me 'Love'?"

Luigi's face turned red, "Uh...do you want me to stop?"

"No, it's cute!"

"I'm not cute, Princess!"

"Yes you are!"

"God, you guys are adorable!" Pauline smirked at them from the window, "I'd go to a wedding where you were the groom, Luigi."

Luigi tried not to let on how much that comment had affected him, but he could only swallow and look away.

"Well, how are we supposed to stop this wedding?" Tiara asked, "I was there when Bowser was planning it, and he has his whole Kingdom in on it! They won't give it up easily!"

Lucy floated around the room like a ghostly equivalent of pacing, "Isn't there anything you can do, Peach? You're the bride, after all, surely you have a say in this!"

"Honestly? I've been locked away for most of the planning." Peach replied, "The one time I was able to get a single word in, I screamed in frustration that I wouldn't marry him anywhere, even if it was on the moon, and his face lit up and he says, 'Great idea! Let's have our wedding on the moon!'"

"Ugh! I _hated_ that!" Tiara floated to the floor, "I thought I was losing my mind listening to him talk!"

_"We really need to set Bowser up on a blind date."_ Luigi joked under his breath, "In any case, we need to come up with a plan. I've never seen Bowser so into his plans before. Even when we beat him in space, he gave it up when he realized he'd lost. If he wanted to keep fighting, he would have had to face off against the queen of the cosmos herself, and that's not a good way to get what you want."

"You had the queen of the cosmos on your side?" Pauline remarked, "I need to call you up more often."

"Luigi's right." Peach leaned up against the wall, "Bowser is probably plotting my capture as we speak. Even if we did have Rosalina's help this time, I doubt it would make a difference. He was so excited. I'd be happy for him if he was marrying someone he actually loved. What should we do?"

This was the point when the door opened and Mario emerged from the other side. The mood became heavy again as he avoided eye contact with everyone. Cappy was right behind him, and he shrugged helplessly at the questioning eyes that met his own.

Luigi took a breath to say something, let it go instead, then he changed his thought process, "Maybe we can sabotage it from the inside."

Peach's gaze snapped to him, but he wasn't looking at her.

"He's not going to simply give up, but..." he smiled as he thought about it, "It's already a sham wedding. Maybe we can change the rules a little."

Mario was looking at him now, but he ignored him, too caught up in his idea.

"Luigi." Peach crossed her arms, "Explain."

"Well, this whole time we've been trying to get Bowser to see reason." Luigi met her gaze, "But that's not going to work. Remember, nobody's mind was ever changed by simply contradicting them. Even in the face of clear evidence, it's easy to simply ignore it, in fact that makes someone less likely to change their mind. Instead, we need to conform what we say to what Bowser already believes. That way, he's more likely to actually listen to us."

"So you want us to go along with this stupid wedding idea?"

"No, Peach. I'm not suggesting you actually marry him." Luigi took her hand in both of his, as if to silently reassure her, "But I am suggesting that you _pretend_ you're into the idea of this wedding. Saying you don't love him is too much of a stretch for him to comprehend, but if you say you want more control over the wedding preparations, that might just make him more receptive to what you have to say. He's the one who started this game, but he's not playing by the rules, so maybe we shouldn't either."

Lucy paused at the window beside Pauline, "So what do we do about all the people who have had things stolen from them? And how do we stop this wedding before it's too late?"

Luigi tapped his foot as he rested a hand over his mouth, "I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead yet."

"I have an idea."

Luigi looked up upon hearing Mario's voice. The misery he'd displayed before was gone, but Luigi knew him better than that.

Still, he decided to drop it for the time being, "What is it?"

Mario grinned in his peculiar way, "What if we swap the groom out for someone else?"

Luigi was stunned.

"Whaaaat!?" Cappy said.

"Think about it! Pauline said it herself, nobody actually likes the idea of this wedding except for Bowser himself! If we swap out the people involved in this fake wedding, I bet most people will go along with it, and Bowser will be so shocked at the stunt that he might not even argue with it, especially considering all the people that will actually be on his side in the end!"

Luigi nodded along with him, "You know what? It might just work! But wait, who would be the fake groom?"

Mario made a sweeping gesture with his arm, "Well, considering Peach's actual affiliations, I thought that would be obvious!"

Luigi balked, "Me!? Bro, you can't be serious! People would never buy that!"

"Are you sure?"

"Well, yes! They think _you're_ the one who's dating Peach!"

"Well, they're wrong." Mario said bluntly, "They are all dead wrong. This switch wouldn't simply come out of nowhere, we can let people know ahead of time. And besides, you do love her, I've seen it with my own eyes. I'm afraid it wouldn't be as convincing if we tossed Bowser to the curb only to replace him with someone who didn't have chemistry with the bride."

Luigi tried to argue, but nothing came to mind.

"It's not real anyway." Mario crossed the room to face him properly, "The point of this is to simply expose it for what it is; A sham wedding. It's all fake. We already know that. This would be catharsis, I think. A happy ending to a tragic story. You can go along with that, can't you?"

Luigi took a deep breath, "Mario, I don't know. This would be worldwide news. I kind of liked keeping my relationship somewhat of a secret."

"And that's fine." came the swift reply, "I'm not going to force you to do anything. I've already tried that, and it only ended up hurting you."

"Mario..."

"No, let me finish." Mario said, "We could come up with a better plan. I'm sure we could, and you taking Peach as your bride needs to be genuine to be convincing. At the end of the day, a plan like this is your choice. Take all the time you need to think about it."

Luigi inhaled, letting it out nice and slow, "Just give me a second."

As the silence stretched on, Mario headed back towards the door, leaning against the doorway with his ankles crossed in front of him. It wasn't a bad idea, in fact it was just ridiculous enough to play on Bowser's grandiose nature. It was clear that people were insulted by this wedding that Bowser was pushing, trying to make out that the bully who married his victim could count as any kind of happy ending. They already knew that this was nothing more than a story, so why not give them a better one? A monster who kidnapped a princess and forced her to be his bride, only for her to turn around and accept someone else's hand instead? A story of true love winning in the end despite it all.

Luigi could tell a story. 

Luigi's expression went from inquisitive to morbidly curious to calm before he took another shaking breath and turned towards Peach, taking her hand as he got down on one knee.

"Peach, will you do me the honor of humiliating Bowser in front of the whole world?"

She doubled over in laughter, "Yes! Of course!"

"Great!" Luigi gave a bow to those in the room, "I'm getting married, everyone!"

They gave him a mock applause.

"Congratulations!" Cappy cheered, "Oh! Watch this!"

He swirled around, and in a blast of magic, landed on Luigi's head. Luigi's green sweater and overalls dissolved away, replaced by a white suit that mirrored Bowser's own, but tailor made to Luigi's height and build. The suit jacket was open in the front, ending in two elegant coattails in the back, and the smooth trousers and soft gloves completed the outfit, along with Cappy's smaller top hat form, which was accented by an enamel pin in the shape and color of Luigi's green emblem. He tucked in the button up shirt, gripping both sides of the jacket as he admired the craftsmanship.

He smiled up at Peach, and she found herself at a loss for words.

"Tiara..." she said slowly, "Can you do that?"

"Of course I can!" she said indignantly, "I wasn't about to do it in front of Bowser, though! As annoying as he is, he also scares the crap out of me!"

"Well..." she averted her gaze sheepishly, "You look very handsome, Luigi."

He beamed, "Thank you!" adjusting the cuffs on his sleeves, he asked, "Cappy, what'd you do with my clothes?"

"Don't worry, they're in the wardrobe on the Odyssey." his eyes reappeared on the hat, "Just say the word and I'll bring them back."

_"Now there's an idea..."_ Pauline picked up her office phone, "I'll tell my reporters that we've got a story!"

"Awesome! Thanks, Pauline!" Luigi rested his arm around Peach's waist, "Are you okay with this? I know you don't like Bowser even at the best of times."

"I'll be fine. I'm just glad we have a plan." Peach leaned in to whisper in his ear, _"Before I leave though, if you need to talk to me about anything, you know you're welcome to."_

He kissed her cheek, _"Thanks, Love. You know that means a lot to me."_

Pauline was able to spare the four moons necessary to get to the next kingdom, so with nothing but the moon to guide them, they bid her farewell and boarded the Odyssey, hiding it in the thick clouds beyond the city.

***


	8. Chapter 8

Back in his normal clothing and after a full night's sleep, Luigi gazed out the window as the Odyssey flew high enough to hide in the clouds. Peach wrapped her arms around him from behind, taking each of his hands in her own and resting her chin on his head. Meanwhile, Mario was chatting with the three hats, talking about anything from other hats to world leaders.

Luigi leaned back into Peach's shoulder, his forehead against her cheek, "Peach?"

"Mm hm?"

He sighed heavily, "Um...I know this might seem sudden, but...would you actually want to marry me someday?"

"Hm. Maybe." she watched the clouds roll by outside, "Why do you ask?"

Luigi cleared his throat, "Well, uh...no reason. Just wondering."

She sensed his stiffness, so she held him around his midsection and gave him a gentle squeeze, "You can tell me anything, Love. I promise."

Luigi's heart fluttered upon hearing the pet name, and he kissed the palm of her hand, "I just...no, it's nothing."

"Hey." she ran her fingers through his hair, "It's alright. I mean it."

Luigi let his gaze fall to the floor, trying to get his thoughts in order, "I..." he sighed, long and slow, "I was just thinking, since this whole fiasco started...I'm...afraid that you might leave me..."

"What!?" she turned him around to look him in the eye, "Why would you be afraid of that!?"

Luigi was tongue-tied for a moment, but he made eye contact with Mario from across the room, and he gave him a silent nod.

"Because..." Luigi's voice shook as it came out hoarse and too quiet, _"Because I don't want to be king..."_

He had his eyes shut as he said it, but when Peach didn't reply, he hesitantly opened his eyes. She patiently smiled at him, running her fingers through his bangs as they frosted over from his stress.

"Luigi, you don't have to take my title to give me an heir."

Luigi stared wide-eyed at her, "You don't?"

"That is the case in some places, but in the Mushroom Kingdom, any baby delivered by the stork will count as a legitimate heir so long as I am one of the parents. The other parent doesn't matter in the slightest. If two people want a baby, it doesn't matter if they're married. What matters is that the baby is going to a good home."

Luigi deflated in her hold, "You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that..."

"Hey." she wrapped him up securely in a warm hug, "Even if I needed royalty to receive an heir, I still wouldn't leave you. There are ways to get people in my family to take over for me and have it be just as legitimate as any one of my own children. I want this to work, Luigi. I love you."

He shakily smiled, "I love you too."

The Odyssey landed in an area full of glimmering water. The Lake Kingdom with its mermaid people had walls all around them, sparkling with crystals, with shells and fish in the water. Mario trudged through the sand, marvelling in its texture, soft and yet still rough enough to sparkle.

Cappy took his spot on Mario's head, "Hey Mario, I saw Luigi do all this cool stuff with his ice, but all you really do is throw fireballs. Why is that?"

Mario tugged on his collar, nervously swallowing around the lump in his throat.

His voice came out quiet, "I'll...tell you later."

Luigi touched the water with his gloved hand, "It's not too cold. I bet the way forward is underwater."

Mario extended his hand to Peach who took it to steady herself, the white wedding heels in her other hand, "Are you ready?"

Peach shrugged, "I guess so. I'm not looking forward to it, though."

"Just go with the plan, and you'll be okay." Mario placed one hand over his heart, "I promise. We'll protect you."

Peach gave him a hug, "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

Tiara twirled above her head, and when she rested on top of her, Peach's usual pink dress replaced the white wedding dress.

"Thank you!"

"No problem!"

Luigi lifted his hand to let a snowflake drift from it, "This tunnel isn't very long. One moment."

He raised his arms and snapped them to each side of him, and the water parted down the middle, creating a dry tunnel along the lakebed which he froze in place along the walls.

"Whoa!" Lucy lay on his head, "That's incredible!"

"Water isn't the same as ice, but it's plenty close enough to manipulate." he waved the group forward, "Come on. It'll melt eventually."

They walked along the tunnel, looking up at the lake around them, where cheep cheeps swam in schools and mermaids paused to stare at them. Luigi stopped in the middle of the lake to look up through the water, his eyes glowing as he watched for signs of leaking.

"I see him." Luigi waved his hand, and the tunnel in front of them refilled with water, reappearing as an ice staircase that ascended to the land above.

"Luigi, Mario's been practicing magic as long as you, right?" Lucy shifted back on his head to look up, "Why does he never do anything this impressive?"

Luigi began to climb the staircase, watching behind him in case anyone slipped, "Honestly, I don't know. He _used_ to do crazy things with his powers. For example, he can create columns of lava and then cool them into platforms, he can infinitely raise the temperature of anything as long as it's dry, he can squeeze any object into a heavy flaming coal, and he can even create solar flares, plasma storms, heat waves, and bright flashes of light."

"That sounds so cool!"

Luigi made it to the top of the staircase, so he stepped aside to let the others pass by, "He hasn't done anything like that in a long time, though, and it's contributing to him losing fights. I've asked him why he stopped, but he won't tell me, and I'm not going to press him on it now."

Mario quickly brushed past him, as if to confirm that he wanted him to drop the subject.

"I see." Cappy flinched, "Whoa! Bowser at eight o' clock!"

Bowser landed beside them, and a few mermaids screamed and leapt into the water.

"Peach!" Bowser seethed, "How could you just run off like that!? I've looked all over for you!"

Luigi could feel Peach's anger rising, so he quickly touched her arm to steady her.

She huffed out a breath of air, crossing her arms indignantly, "I don't appreciate how you've been treating me this whole time. Don't I get a say in my own wedding?"

Bowser lifted one claw, then he let it fall, "Umm..."

"We're equal partners in this, aren't we?" Peach looked at him with big, sparkly eyes, "You do love me, don't you?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then you should let me in on the preparations." she clasped her hands in front of her chest, "Please, Bowser. Sweetheart. This is my big day as well as yours. Will you allow me more freedom in this partnership?"

For a second, Mario was afraid she may have laid it on too thick, but Bowser got the biggest, goofiest smile on his face, and Mario realized with a sickening pang in his heart that he really did love her in his own strange way.

"Of course I will." Bowser lifted a hand towards her, "You should have said something sooner!"

Peach inhaled sharply in frustration, but impressively, she didn't let it show much on her face, "Thank you." she lay the stolen wedding dress over her arm, "The first thing we'll do is return the items you stole."

"What!?"

"You heard me!" Peach handed the dress off to a nearby mermaid, who carried it away like a priceless artifact, "Think about it, Bowser. Do you really want the legacy of this wedding to be that it hurt people in my name?"

Bowser sulked, "No..."

"That's what I thought." she gestured to Tiara, still on her head, "Tiara can give me her own dress to wear, and you can always buy things that you want. You know, with coins? Like a normal person?"

"Fine fine fine! Whatever you want!"

"Thank you!" Peach put on her sweetest smile, "This will be the best wedding ever!"

Bowser wrapped an arm around her, and she beamed at him. Mario and Luigi looked at each other, in complete disbelief that this was working so well.

"Bowser..." Peach said in that same sugary-sweet voice, "I have one more request for you."

"Anything."

She cocked her head towards her companions, "Stop trying to kill my friends."

"Anything besides that."

"Princess, it's fine." Luigi tipped Lucy in her direction, "We can handle ourselves."

"Well...alright." Peach seemed uneasy for a second, but she returned to her façade fairly quickly, "Let's go, Bowser. I'll tell you my plans on the way."

Bowser held her hand to help her climb onto the deck of his airship. It ascended into the distance, and Peach waved at the group sadly until it was out of sight. Luigi hung his head, picking at a loose thread on the sleeve of his sweater.

"Luigi." Mario wrapped an arm around him, "You know she was faking it."

"I know, but it doesn't make me feel any better." Luigi shivered, "I love her."

"I know you do." Mario gazed off towards the walls that blocked their view of the horizon, "Cappy, how many moons do we need to get to the next Kingdom over?"

He replied, "Five."

"Five. Fantastic." Mario gazed into the water, "Well, we'd better get looking, then."

_"Oh no you don't!"_

The smaller airship descended upon them. Topper and Hariet were absent, but the other two were still there. The one who had spoken was the tall lanky one, dressed in yellow.

"You're staying out of this wedding! Boss said so!" he hopped down in front of them, and the airship sailed away, "Name's Rango, and from the looks of it, you two are not on the guest list! Good luck stopping me!"

He threw his hat at them, and the brim grew saw blades as it sailed towards them.

"Watch out!" Cappy called as it grazed Mario's forehead, drawing a drop of blood.

"Agh!" Luigi threw Lucy at the hat, and it flipped around, revealing a spring flower.

"Hey!" Rango snapped, "Don't do that!"

Mario quickly jumped on the spring, flying high into the air to land on the rabbit, but before he could, Rango flicked his wrist, and the hat headed back towards him.

Mario used a burst of fire to redirect his jump before he could take any damage from Rango's spiked hat, and Rango burst into goofy laughter, "Nice try, but you're clearly not fast enough!"

Luigi glanced between the rabbit and his brother, an idea forming in his head, "Hey, loser! I bet you can't hit me!"

"Oh yeah!? We'll see about that!"

Rango threw the hat at him, and Luigi threw Lucy at it to flip it over, but this time, he surrounded it with ice to freeze it in place, "Now!"

Mario launched into the air once again, but Rango wasn't completely defenseless without the hat. He reached into his breast pocket for flowers, which were coated in sharp thorns, and he threw them up, forcing Mario to dodge them. One of them caught on his sleeve, slicing through his wrist, but he wouldn't let it distract him. With little more fanfare, he struck Rango's head dead-on, and he fell over, dazed from the blow.

He laughed a little as he sat up, "Alright, I get it. You wanna crash the boss's wedding? We'll see if you can make it past the door."

And with that, he disappeared, leaving nothing but the multi-moon behind.

Luigi took Mario's hand, "You're hurt."

Mario looked at the cut, "Oh, it's just a scratch. I'll be fine."

"Nah, bro. It's bleeding." Luigi covered it with his thumb, "Let me help a little, at least."

As well as just being cold, Luigi's magic always carried a bit of tingling with it, like a limb falling asleep and becoming partially numb. Mario knew it only felt like that to him because it conflicted with his fire core, but in his mind, this feeling was associated with Luigi, and so it held a sense of peace for him, knowing that though it was slightly uncomfortable, nobody else could make him feel this with their magic. He knew logically that anyone with an ice core who tried to heal him would give him this same feeling, but ice cores were rare unless you were a ghost, so it was unlikely he'd ever feel this from someone else.

"There. It's stopped bleeding, at least." Luigi tried to catch his eye, "Mario, are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking, I guess."

"I can tell." he gave Mario's hand a squeeze, "What are you thinking about?"

Mario shook his head, "Let's get the rest of those moons we need."

Luigi grasped at the air when Mario dove into the water, using Cappy to capture a fish nearby before swimming away.

Luigi sighed, running a hand over his forehead. He froze the water in front of him, using it to walk over the surface and keeping the whole path connected to the land so it didn't float away or tip over. He caught sight of Lucy's eyes on his green cap, and they both watched the water for any signs of the power that indicated moons nearby.

Lucy relaxed over his scalp, "I don't mean to pry, but has Mario been traumatized by something?"

Luigi looked up at the platforms above the water, where stacks of goomas wandered around for their target, "Honestly, I don't know. Mario thinks he has to be strong for me, so whenever I try to talk to him about it, he just dodges the question. He must know I suspect him, but regardless, he won't talk."

"Well, trauma isn't easy to talk about." Lucy closed her eyes, "That's certainly something I learned growing up alongside Cappy."

"Really?" Luigi made it to the opposite wall, connecting his path to it and letting most of his ice path melt behind him, "Now you've got me curious. What happened?"

"Well, I can't tell you much about it because it happened so long ago, but I went through a lot of trouble learning how to shapeshift. It's supposed to come naturally, but for some reason I just couldn't do it. It was so difficult just to change into a lighter shade of gray. I felt inadequate, and most people were worried about me, but there wasn't much they could do. Some even thought I was faking it, and that really stung."

Luigi saw a glimmer on the wall above him, so he created a ladder out of ice and climbed up to it, "I assume you figured it out eventually?"

"Yeah, but it took so much grief." she lowered her voice to make sure only he could hear, "Eventually, shapeshifting was too painful, and so I just stopped doing it altogether. For us caps, it would be like breathing was too difficult for how easy it's supposed to be. I thought I had failed somehow, like it had all been my fault...until I met Cappy. He took one look at me and said, 'I'm no expert, but that looks like mercury poisoning.'"

"Mercury poisoning?" Luigi created a platform outside the wall to better inspect it.

"Yup. Turns out, the fibers of my base had been soaked in mercury during manufacturing to create felt, but it hadn't been properly washed before it was sold."

Luigi encased his fist in ice to punch through the wall, and a power moon was spat out, falling over his shoulder to land in the water below.

"As it turns out, heavy metals make shapeshifting harder. As soon as I got a proper wash, the mercury was gone, and it became just as easy for me as it had been for anyone else." Lucy continued, "But even now, I still struggle with feelings of guilt and failure, even though there's nothing wrong with me anymore. Cappy helped me through it. I don't know where I'd be if he hadn't recognized the problem so fast."

Luigi jumped down to land on his platform, reaching out to catch the moon before it sank below the surface, "Thank you for trusting me with this, Lucy. I had no idea you had such a rough start."

"Thank you for listening." Lucy replied, "You're real easy to talk to, Luigi. You know that?"

Luigi smiled, "So I've been told." he pocketed the moon, "Okay, I can't talk while I'm underwater. Just a heads-up."

"Of course!"

Luigi took many deep breaths, saturating his lungs with oxygen before he took one last breath and dove beneath the waves. He always loved swimming. Even though ice was the easiest for him to control, water was plenty close enough for him to have an effect on it, and even without his magic, he was a pretty good swimmer. Once he reached the lakebed, he kicked off it and rolled so his back was to the sand, gazing up through the water at the sun rays shining through it.

"You're enjoying yourself, aren't you?"

Luigi let out some of the breath he'd been holding, releasing bubbles into the water, and he flipped over to swim to one of the air pockets nearby.

He took a breath once inside, "What can I say? I'm a natural-born swimmer. I'm going to enjoy this for as long as I can."

Mario swam over from the opposite side of the lake, and he emerged from the water to get some much-needed oxygen.

Luigi gave him a pat on the back, only to find him shivering, "You find any moons yet?"

Mario rubbed his arms, "No."

"Here, you go back up to the surface and dry off." Luigi gave him a push, "I can keep looking underwater. You go enjoy the sun."

Mario laughed, giving him a slight shove, "If you insist."

"Hang on, I'm cold too." Lucy said, "Cappy, can we switch places?"

"Sure thing!"

With those plans settled, Mario headed to the surface and Luigi headed deeper through the water.

***


	9. Chapter 9

Lucy watched Mario's movements as he walked along one side of the massive wall surrounding the lake. What Luigi had said about him bounced around in her head, and she contemplated how to bring up the subject tactfully. If this was something Mario didn't even tell Luigi about, then why would he tell someone he barely knew? Then again, maybe Luigi was part of it. Maybe he would be more likely to tell an impartial observer rather than the brother he'd literally known since the day he was born.

Mario rolled his eyes, "Okay, spill. What did you talk to my brother about?"

"Huh?" Lucy was ripped so abruptly from her train of thought that she had to do a mental recap of her thought process, "Oh, nothing much. I was just telling Luigi about how Cappy helped me through a difficult time in my life."

"Really?" Mario watched the reflections in the water, "How long have you known Cappy?"

"Almost our whole lives." she replied, "We grew up alongside each other, so I hardly remember a world without him."

"I know how that feels." Mario felt along the wall for anything unusual, "I...I've never known a world without Luigi."

He said it just softly enough that Lucy had to strain to hear, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just thinking, I guess." he paused to lean against the wall, his hands in his pockets, "I don't mean to make Luigi worry about me, but sometimes, I can't help but make sacrifices to keep him safe. I don't know how to stop, it's like it's ingrained within me."

"Well, if you don't learn to trust him, then it's only going to hurt both of you."

"I know, but Luigi is everything to me." he kicked the wall, "I already failed him earlier by letting the lava burn his skin. Can you imagine if I had been even a second later?"

"Mario..." Lucy paused when a glimmer caught her eye, "Wait, look."

He did. There was a reflection in the water of a power moon. They both looked up to find a hidden alcove, where a power moon was innocently hiding away.

"Sweet!" Lucy slipped into the gap to retrieve it, "That's five!"

"Luigi got one?"

"Uh huh!" she handed it over before taking her perch back, "Let's go!"

Mario jumped down to gaze into the water just as Luigi's head broke the surface, "Oh, hey bro. I don't think there are any more moons in the water."

"Well, it doesn't matter." Mario held up the moon for him to see.

"Aha! Perfect!" Luigi climbed out of the lake, "Let's hope Bowser isn't too far ahead."

Luigi recreated the ice tunnel back to the other beach, and they boarded and set sail.

Once in the air, Luigi gripped Cappy's brim to prevent him flying off in the wind, "So, Cappy, where to next?"

Cappy reverted to his default form to check the map, "The Snow Kingdom!"

Mario's forehead hit the railing, "Oh no..."

"Oh." Luigi tried to hide his excitement in lieu of sympathy, "That's rough, bro."

"Yikes." Lucy flew into the air, a bowler hat once again, "As if being underwater wasn't bad enough."

_"Tell me about it..."_ Mario took fistfuls of his hair to tug against it, "Luigi, don't be alarmed, but I might have to eat you to survive."

Luigi smacked him, "Shut up! You make it sound like we're going to die!"

Mario laughed, but he sobered up quickly, "Well, you know how fragile my core has been recently."

"And who's fault is that?"

"Luigi..."

"Fine fine, I'll drop it." Luigi shrugged, "Well, they'll most certainly have warm clothes we can buy. Think you can tough it out until then?"

"If only I could huddle close to you for warmth, but you're colder than anyone I know!"

"You didn't answer my question."

"Guys!" Cappy returned to Luigi's head, "We're here."

The Odyssey landed on the peak of a snow-capped hill, and the chill seeped into Mario's bones immediately. He wrapped both arms around himself, his teeth chattering as he tried in vain to keep warm.

Lucy shapeshifted into a big fluffy beanie, "Better?"

Mario tugged her over his ears, "Hardly."

"Come on, bro." Luigi gently led him down the hill, "The only way to go is forward." he created an ice path across the lake so Mario wouldn't have to get his feet wet, "The settlement should be close by."

Cappy eyed the drifting snowflakes, "Why isn't this lake frozen?"

The path disappeared behind them, "Probably magic." Luigi replied, "I feel it all over this place."

"You're in your element, bro." Mario wheezed, sneezing into his sleeve.

Luigi brought him to a clearing in the snow, but there was no indication of civilization. No buildings, tools, or anything of the sort. There weren't even any footprints. The wind picked up, and Luigi waved his hand to clear the way.

"Huh?" Luigi stepped forward, kneeling on the ground to touch the ice beneath them, "There's empty space in here. Almost as if..."

The ice cracked, and the four of them went tumbling into the darkness below.

Four indentations sank into the snow below, and Luigi dizzily tried to reorient himself in the new space. He melted a bit of the snow to see which way the drips fell, knowing to dig himself out through the opposite side of that. Once he had his head above the snow, he looked up into the face of a very startled, very round polar bear.

He reached a hand out to him, "Are you alright, mister?"

Luigi accepted the help, climbing back up onto sturdy ground, "Thanks. I'm fine. Mario?"

Lucy and Cappy dug themselves out, back in their default forms, as their pupils spun around like googly eyes. They both gazed into the snow bank, and Luigi realized with a start that Mario was probably stuck.

"Hang in there, bro!" Luigi lifted his fist to shove the loose snow aside, and Mario appeared, his lips blue from the cold. Luigi pulled him out, "Don't worry, bro! You'll be okay!"

Cappy turned to the polar bear, "Sir, do you have a campfire here or something!?"

"Yes, we do!" he headed further into the cavern, "Follow me!"

The underground abode was full of stalls of stuff, from steamy food to big winter coats. There weren't many visitors at the moment, but the few that were there didn't even notice the newcomers as they were sightseeing. The polar bear leading the small group pointed out the bonfire in the main square, and Mario leapt from Luigi's hold as the heat from it washed over him.

"Oh, sweet warmth!" Mario stuck his hands into the fire, reigniting his core as the flames snaked up his arms, "I will never take you for granted again!"

Cappy and Lucy hovered around Luigi as he stayed a good distance away, already feeling sweat on his brow from the fire.

"Yeesh." Cappy eyed Mario warily, "Won't he get hurt?"

"No." Luigi replied, "He may look crazy, but he's in complete control of that fire."

Mario's eyes glowed a bright scarlet red as he drew away from the fire, finally feeling strong again after so long with a flickering core. The furnace in his heart was roaring high, and he basked in the feeling, until he realized that he would lose it as soon as he left the town square.

Luigi sighed, "Do you want me to buy you a coat?"

Mario looked from the fire to him, "Yes, please."

Luigi stepped up to one of the nearby stalls, and by the time he made it back to the fire, Mario was absently watching the flames as they disappeared through a hole in the snowy roof of the cavern.

Luigi handed the coat to him, "Here."

"Thank you, Luigi. You're a lifesaver." Mario put the coat on, zipping it up and then buttoning the buttons on top.

"I also got you some snow pants." Luigi handed those over as well, "I want you to be as warm as possible while we're here."

Mario balanced on one foot while he put the pants on, "Did you get snow boots as well?"

Luigi smiled before holding up a pair to the light, "You know me too well."

Once Mario was suited up, he was completely bundled up from head to toe. The only thing that was still visible was his head from the nose up when the hood was down, at least until Lucy returned to his head as the beanie and Mario put the hood up.

Luigi elbowed him, "I'm gonna lose you in all the snow now that you're not in red!"

It was true. The snow gear was white with blue accents, "You'll get used to it. At least I'm not freezing anymore!"

"True." Luigi eyed the rest of the market, "Now...what would Bowser need from here?"

Mario was relieved that being near the bonfire was actually making him too hot, so he fell in step beside Luigi as he walked, "You know, we'll have to resolve all this again once we get to a lava-filled kingdom..."

"Let's not think about that right now." Luigi cleared his throat, "Anyway, this place is a nice community, clearly, but do you guys know why Bowser would be here before his wedding?"

"Did someone say wedding!?"

Luigi jumped a foot in the air at the sudden unexpected voice. One of the polar bears had an awestruck look on her face.

"Why, we're crazy about weddings here!" she continued, both paws on her cheeks, "Shiveria is famous for its Frosted Cake! No other cake can possibly compare to it, in my humble opinion."

When Luigi's heart stopped pounding, he replied breathlessly, "Really?"

"Yes! I mean, the same cake is used as the grand prize for the bounding races we host here, and nobody ever wishes for a better prize!"

Mario stepped in, a mitten-clad hand on his brother's shoulder, "Where can we find this cake?"

"At the end of this street! You can't miss it!" she let her hands fall to her pink apron, "Say, aren't you cold, young man? Your companion here is plenty bundled up, but you're scarcely wearing more than a knitted sweater!"

Luigi adjusted the turtleneck on said sweater, "Don't worry, ma'am. I have an ice core, so I'm plenty warm enough."

"Well, alright. If you say so."

They hardly took three more steps before they saw the familiar airship in the distance. The big one naturally wouldn't fit inside the cavern, but there were two smaller ones nearby, one of which had a massive white cake atop it. Two figures could be seen near the window of the cake shop, both dressed in wedding attire unfit for the cold, one of which was screaming and the other of which was tugging on the first's arm to get them to knock it off.

Luigi pulled Mario behind some wooden crates to watch from a distance. Bowser was complaining about the service and threatening to get everyone fired (in more ways than one).

"Bowser, that's enough!" Peach dug her heels into the ice trying to get him to move, "It was only a thirty minute wait, and that cake is massive and beautiful!"

"But they talked back against me!"

"After you yelled at them!"

"They started it!"

"And you're making it worse!"

"Wow." Luigi said flatly, "Don't they make a wonderful couple?"

Mario rolled his eyes, "I bet I could find two sea urchins with more chemistry than that."

Peach supposedly gave up as Bowser continued his tirade, as she stomped off to the side, her face red in rage.

"I'll see if I can get her attention and not Bowser's." Luigi snapped his fingers, creating a butterfly out of ice and allowing it to flutter over to her.

She looked up upon seeing the glimmer, and she watched it as it flew around her. She gazed out until her eyes landed on Luigi, and her face lit up. She glanced back at Bowser, but he was occupied, so she crept away to join their hiding spot.

"Luigi!" she kissed his forehead, "I don't know how you're not cold out here!"

Mario took her shoulders, which were as cold as the icy air around them, _"I_ can't believe you're wearing _that_ in this weather."

She wrapped both arms around him, "Wow! You're so warm..."

Mario's hand rested on her back, "Your back is exposed! Why wouldn't Bowser give you a coat while you're here!?"

"I asked him for one, but I don't think he heard me!"

"And I don't have a coat saved in my memory!" Tiara said.

Mario pulled his hood back, "Lucy?" she moved, "Tiara, switch to me."

"Ooh! Good idea!" Tiara landed on his head, and when she returned to Peach, she replaced the dress with the coat, pants, boots, and mittens, modified to Peach's proportions of course.

"Much better!" Peach pulled the hood over her blonde ponytail as Tiara returned to her head

"Would Bowser really get mad at you for not wearing the dress?" Luigi asked, "Surely he recognizes on some level that wedding dresses are only meant to look nice?"

"I'm sure he does." she gave Bowser a side-glance over the crates, "But he's been wearing the suit this whole time, so maybe he just assumes I'm as resilient as a koopa."

"I wouldn't call Bowser resilient." Cappy mumbled, "More like stubborn and arrogant."

"You're not wrong, big bro." Tiara agreed.

Peach rested her arms on the crate next to her, "He hasn't even noticed I'm not there anymore. Does anyone even buy this wedding at all?"

Luigi leaned into her side, "Hang in there, Love. Has he begun to change his plans?"

"Yeah. He is listening to me at least a little bit. He even agreed to return the Binding Band, which really shocked me."

"Then at least there's that." Luigi eased her hands into each of his own, "What rings will he use instead?"

"I don't know. He said he's still working on it."

"Then I think I know what to do." Luigi took Peach's left mitten off to create an ice ring around her ring finger. Once he had it the perfect size, he slipped it off and held it up to the light.

"Oh! Perfect!" Peach reached for it, briefly taking it in her palm, "I'll tell Bowser I know how to get the rings."

"You have a plan for what to tell him, right?"

"Well...I'll figure it out." she smiled as she slipped the mitten back on, "You know I can improvise."

"I know you can." Luigi dispersed the ring he'd made, "You'd better head back. We'll try to get to the next stop as soon as possible."

"Thank you." Peach kissed his lips and then ruffled Mario's hair before her footsteps receded away.

Luigi sighed blissfully, "Isn't she beautiful?"

"She certainly is something." Lucy returned to Mario's head as he flipped his hood back up, "Do we actually have a plan for those rings?"

"Yes, we do." Luigi replied, "Cappy, how many more moons do we need before the Odyssey is at full power?"

"Full power?" Cappy did the math in his head, "Absolute minimum, we'd need at least seventy."

Luigi looked up at him, "Seventy moons!?"

"I mean, unless you want to try clipping through a staircase, but that's not very feasible all things considered..."

"But we only have nineteen!" Luigi huffed out a sigh, "Okay, plan B; Mario makes the rings."

"No." Mario crossed his arms, "Never. Not happening."

"Why not!? It would be easy!" Luigi glanced up to make sure Bowser hadn't heard him before he grabbed Mario's thick sleeve to drag him away, "Seriously, bro. It's bad enough that you leave me out of things, but when you won't even use all your abilities to defend yourself, it just becomes insulting."

"I'm not making the rings, Luigi." Mario forced him to stop, "There must be another way."

Luigi smacked his lips, "Cappy, does Shiveria make wedding rings?"

Cappy gave the area a wide sweep with his eyes before answering, "No."

"Then we need to get them from somewhere." Luigi argued, "We need rings that will fit both me and Peach, and we don't have time to order them from out of the country."

"But rings come pre-made, don't they?" Mario forced his voice to stay level, "We can find ones that fit both of you."

Luigi scratched his fingers up his face, messing up his hair beneath Cappy.

"That's not how this works, bro." he let one hand rest on the side of his face, over his eye, "We can look, but I doubt we'll find anything on such short notice."

In the meantime, they reasoned internally and independently, they could probably look for power moons, since they'd need those regardless.

Luigi led Mario back to the square, once he'd determined that the street occupied by Bowser had nothing selling wedding rings, "Cappy, how many moons to get to the next kingdom?"

"Six." he replied, "Seven if we're unlucky."

Luigi had to make sure he'd heard correctly, "Unlucky?"

"The hatships get weaker in extreme weather." he explained, "It's not a big deal, but it does make a difference overtime. Once we have full moon power, it won't be a problem anymore."

"Right. Will we even be able to find seven power moons here?"

Mario scanned each building as they passed, hoping upon endless hope they would miraculously find a jewelry shop that sold pre-made rings in this small, tight-knit community.

It wasn't until they were back at the bonfire when Cappy answered Luigi's question.

"I sure hope so. We can't leave without those moons."

***


	10. Chapter 10

Luigi hadn't spoken in five minutes. Bowser didn't seem to be moving on anytime soon, so it wasn't like they were in a rush, but he didn't seem ready to get moving at all. If anything, he appeared as if he was in a trance, unwilling to direct attention to anything aside from his own internal musings.

Mario didn't want to interrupt him, but after the fifth minute was up, he finally said, "Luigi?"

"Why won't you talk to me?" Luigi suddenly faced him, "If you can't use your magic, I understand, but why won't you at least tell me why it bothers you?"

"I can't tell you."

The response was automatic. Rehearsed. Mario couldn't hold it back. His distress at this topic was forcing thoughts and memories up his throat like a volcano. He needed to crush it. He couldn't let it out.

"Why not?" Luigi got closer as he lowered his voice, "If this is too public, I can find a quieter place."

"No, I can't tell you _at all."_

"Why?"

"Because I _can't,_ Luigi!"

"Don't you trust me!?" Luigi gently shook him, "I've been trying to be patient with you on this, but you just won't talk! What do you need, Mario? How can I help you?"

"There's nothing you can do." Mario broke away from his grip, "We're going to get those rings without the need for my powers, and we're going to drop this subject and never bring it up again."

"Why?"

"Because we don't need to."

"You realize what underusing your powers will do to you, right?" Luigi stomped his foot on the ground, creating an ice wall around them to the height of their elbows, "Short term, you will lose fights more often because you just trickle away at your powers without actually using them, like you have been recently. Long term, your powers will atrophy until there's nothing left, or worse...they'll build up until they explode."

"Shut up! Be quiet!" Mario's shouting was attracting stares from the crowd around them, but he didn't care, "We aren't talking about this because _I can't!_ Just drop it!"

"But that doesn't even make any sense, why can't you just-!"

"I said DROP IT!"

The ground collapsed beneath them in a fiery blaze, and they began to fall.

Luigi gasped as he saw the cold water fast approaching, so he wrapped both arms around his brother and created a bubble around them, which crashed into the water as they sunk beneath the surface, coming to rest in the shallow pool which would have been about eye-level if they'd been standing up, meaning the bubble partially rested above the surface.

Though they weren't underwater, Mario felt the cold of the cavern even through the thick coat. The shock of the fall and the burst of magic he'd created extinguished the furnace inside him, and it gave him the impression that he had died.

"It's dark down here." Luigi murmured, holding him close and drawing the cold away, "Hey, bro, it's okay. You're alright. I'm here."

Mario relaxed in his hold, the fear and the cold the only thing he could focus on.

"Okay. I'm gonna stand up now, okay?" Luigi wrapped his arms around him beneath his arms, "Ready?"

Mario managed a stiff nod, and Luigi carefully stood up with him. Moving his gaze across the darkness of the cavern, he cast a spell for light, and slowly began to move his bubble through the water.

By the time he'd found land, Mario was shaking. He had a feeling it was from more than just the cold, so he kept one arm around him as he eased the shape of the bubble into one that got them up the slope. "Step up." he said, guiding his brother up into the snow. Once he'd dropped the bubble, he took another good look at him. Mario's eyes were glazed over, a faraway hauntedness to them that reminded Luigi of the few times he'd been kidnapped, both by Bowser and by King Boo.

Taking another breath, he breached the topic one last time, "Mario. Please. You need to talk to me. You don't have to tell me what happened, but I can't help you if you keep hiding your feelings from me."

Mario finally looked up. He was still frowning, but the haunted glaze over his eyes was gone, "I need to be strong for you."

"But why?" Luigi collapsed to his knees, knocking Cappy off as he rested his forehead against Mario's chest, "We're a team. We always have been. Mario and Luigi, Dream Team, The Mario Brothers, The Jumpman Contractors, famous former plumbers, whatever you want to call us, we do things TOGETHER. _How many times do I have to wake up screaming before you feel like you've earned the right to my comfort?"_

The last question came out as a hush, and Luigi fought the tears that gathered in his eyes. He lost. They streamed down his face in long icicles.

"I don't want you to worry about me." Mario said finally, "I hate that."

"But you can't do everything by yourself." Luigi looked up at him. His face was twisted in an angry glare, but his voice reflected hurt, "What if whenever I had a nightmare of King Boo's torture, I gave you a fake smile and told you that everything was fine? What if I kept insisting that it didn't bother me? What if whenever I jumped at a shadow in the corner, I shrugged and said that I didn't want to talk about it? Would you let it go? Would you simply chalk it up to tiredness? Would you ignore the problem until you saw the dark circles under my eyes and realized I was getting no sleep? Tell me, Mario. What should I do?"

Of course, Mario knew he was right, but that didn't mean he could simply change his thought process, "I'm the hero, Luigi. I can't feel vulnerable. I don't want you to have to carry my weight. I know you're just...I know it makes sense, what you're saying, but I can't let you..."

His voice wavered, threatening the mask he'd had up for so long. One more crack and he was sure he would break.

"Would you expect someone to be strong forever?" Luigi stood up, wiping the icy tears from his face, "Why hold yourself to such an ungodly standard? To protect me? I'm twenty nine years old, Mario. I'm not a child anymore. You don't need to sacrifice your life to make me sad less often."

Mario cringed at the comparison, his vision fuzzy at the edges from his gathering tears.

Realizing he could find no sensible way out of this situation, he held up his arms with the last of his strength, _"Hug me?"_

Luigi wrapped both arms firmly around him, and he practically fell against him. Luigi dragged him to a nearby ice wall, and the two of them huddled close to each other, Mario's head resting in the crook of Luigi's arm. Lucy and Cappy floated nearby, torn between staying to make sure they were safe and leaving to give them more space.

"You guys can stay." Luigi sat with his back to the wall, Mario leaning into him with his arm draped over Luigi's lap, "We shouldn't stay long, though. We have power moons to get."

Mario pressed an ear to Luigi's chest to listen to his heartbeat. He was fine. His breathing was steady and his heartbeat was strong. As long as Luigi was alive, he knew he'd be fine.

Luigi picked up on that, too, "Mario, is it about me?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Luigi held him tighter, "Fine. Don't talk. Just cry."

So he did.

***

By the time Mario was done crying, the sun was well overhead, bouncing off the snow in the cavern above and casting a fuzzy glow over the place where Mario's fire had broken through. Luigi took some of the snow from around them and melted it, creating a glass of ice to hold it in.

He handed it to his companion, "Here."

Mario took it, drinking the water and trying to quell the furnace in his heart, "Thank you."

Luigi took the glass back, "How long have you been holding that in?"

Mario buried his face in the turtleneck of Luigi's sweater, "At least this whole journey, when I saw Bowser throw you off his ship."

Luigi had a feeling that was a bit of a bluff, but he didn't dare question that now, "Well, are you feeling better?"

Mario deflated further against him, "I do feel better, but I'm tired."

"That's to be expected." Luigi leaned forward, "I'm gonna stand up now, alright?" Mario carefully stood up alongside him, and Luigi wiped the tears from his face, "Hey, it's gonna be okay."

Mario laughed, "I'm usually the one saying that."

"I know, but we all need to hear it sometimes." Luigi gave him one last side hug before breaking away, "Okay, what time is it?"

Cappy flew back from where he'd been idly floating, "It's just past noon. Bowser has almost certainly moved on by now."

"Gosh." Mario frowned, "I'm so sorry."

"Hey, bro. It's cool." Luigi said, "Obviously, I could take us back up the way we came, but should we see where this cavern takes us?"

"It might be our best bet." Lucy retook her spot on Mario's head, "I know I'd hide power moons down here."

"Alright." Luigi adjusted Cappy as he returned to the green cap on his head, "Mario, if you need to stop, just let me know."

"No, I'm fine now." Mario trailed after Luigi as he began to walk, "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to break down like that."

"Bro, it's okay." Luigi stopped in front of him, "Hey, bro, look at me. It's okay."

He held eye contact for a second before he walked away, and Mario followed close behind him.

"I did want to say something else, though." Luigi nervously rubbed the back of his head, "I'm so sorry I yelled at you back in New Donk. You terrified me, but I could have gone about it better than I did."

"No, Luigi. I understand." Mario took his hand beside him as they walked, "I did something reckless, and it got me hurt. You had every right to be upset."

"I guess, but that doesn't excuse my behavior." Luigi snapped his fingers to create a little more light down their path, "I'll forgive you if you forgive me."

"Consider it done." Mario replied, "It's in the past. I'll try to be more careful from now on."

"Thanks, bro." Luigi's shoe hit the water, and he sighed, "How much farther does this cavern go?"

Cappy shifted forward to look at the ground, "Hey, you don't think the ice will give way a third time?"

"I certainly hope not..." Luigi knelt to feel through the ice with his powers, "Nope. This is the final layer. Everything below us is either solid ice or rock."

Lucy sighed, "Good!"

"Well," Luigi squinted through the darkness, "I'm sorry, bro. I'm not good at making light. Can you illuminate this cavern for me?"

Mario slowly nodded. He could make light. Twisting his wrist around, he ignited a spark at his fingertips, squeezing it in his fist until its glow exploded outward, then he threw it into the air and watched it expand like a firework in the distance, and the lights spread outward until they illuminated the whole cavern in a bright golden light.

"Thanks, bro!" Luigi created another ice bridge across the water, "Let's go!"

The cavern was full of icy enemies, including columns of monsters that shot up out of the ground and tried to bite them. Mario slid across platforms on slides made of fire, while Luigi engulfed himself in waves of ice to shield himself from the sharp edges. The columns helped them climb up towards a platform where a power moon sat near a doorway back up.

"Hey, Mario." Cappy flew through the air to help boost Luigi's jumps, "This might seem a bit random, but does Luigi's relationship with Peach bother you?"

Mario landed on the highest platform, catching Luigi's arm when his foot slipped on the edge, "No. Why would it bother me?"

"I dunno. Just curious." Cappy pushed Luigi away from the edge, "I thought maybe you'd wish you had that with someone."

Mario swept up the power moon, watching Luigi create a slide to the next area over the water, "If I'm being honest...I don't think I _can_ fall in love."

Lucy gave a start at that, "Really?"

"Yeah." Mario took Luigi's hand and they both slid down Luigi's ice slide, "Every time I've ever had a romantic partner, I've loved them the same way I love anyone else in my life. It just doesn't seem like something I can...feel."

"I guess that makes sense." Cappy said, "Everyone's kinda like that in Bonneton. There are some hats that form couples, but most of us only want familial bonds."

Mario landed roughly on the next stretch of land, and Luigi grabbed the front of his coat to prevent him from falling backwards into the water.

"How do hats come to life anyway?" Luigi formed a barrier around them when another ice creature jumped out to attack them.

"Ghostly energy left behind by haunted places can stick to hats and create new life from it." Lucy explained, "And before you ask; Yes, it only works with hats. We're not really sure why, maybe it's because hats go on your head, which is where your brain is, or maybe other kinds of clothing are just too flimsy to hold magic long enough to come to life."

Luigi gulped loudly, "Wait, so you guys are ghosts?"

"Why?" Cappy drawled humorously, "Are you scaaared?"

"No I'm not scared!" Luigi grabbed the next moon, "Okay I'm a little scared, but if I can keep Polterpup around, then you guys are fine too."

"Cappy's just messing with you." Lucy said, "We're nothing like ghosts. We're just talking hats."

By the time they'd collected seven power moons, Luigi had begun to shiver. They were so far underground at this point that no sunlight could reach them no matter how much it reflected off the snow above, and Mario's fire was their only source of light. He took his brother's hands to warm them some, and Luigi breathed a sigh of relief.

"There's gotta be an exit around here somewhere..." Cappy flew off Luigi's head to get a better look at the world around them, "How far does this go? Do you think the residents know about this place?"

"No idea." Luigi rubbed his hands together, his breath fogging up in the air, "But I get the feeling we're in too deep. We'd better find our way out."

***


	11. Chapter 11

When the Odyssey lifted off and everyone was inside, Mario collapsed on his stomach into his usual armchair, "Ugh! Finally!"

Luigi sat across from him, "Something tells me you're happy to be out of there."

"Really. I wonder what tipped you off."

Luigi leaned forward to place a hand on his arm, "Are you ready?"

Mario slid down so his knees were on the floor, both arms over the seat of the chair, "I don't know."

Luigi sighed, "It's okay. Take your time."

Mario stayed in place for a bit longer before stripping out of the heavy winter gear. Back in his usual ensemble, he lifted his arms, then he sucked in a breath between his teeth.

"Mario, hey, listen." Luigi squeezed his hand, "Listen. You're okay. _I'm_ okay. You can do this."

When he was assured that Mario wasn't panicking, he let go and recreated the ring he'd measured out earlier for Peach. Taking his own glove off, he did the same trick for his own ring finger, and suddenly he had two ice rings. He took his time perfecting their shape, making sure they would work suitably to cast in molds.

The two rings hovered in the air between Luigi's hands, and he marvelled briefly at how much bigger his ring size was compared to Peach's, "Mario?"

Cappy watched the rings spin around each other, "What's Mario gonna do?"

Luigi beamed excitedly, "You'll see."

Mario placed his hands beneath Luigi's, letting the fire bleed into the swirling ice. In a moment, he surrounded the rings with lava, creating a flash-freeze effect where hot and cold clashed violently. Luigi drew back at this point, and Mario created a block of solid rock, breaking it down the middle to form two halves of a complete mold. After this, he filled the rock mold with a bright white liquid, and then he pushed the two halves together until it was too bright to look at. When the glow died down, he dispelled the mold, revealing two perfect silver rings made of pure steel.

Luigi tried his ring on to make sure it still fit, "Awesome!" he took both rings in his palm to scrutinize them, "Nice job, bro!"

"That..." Mario looked at his hands, which still had steam coming off of them, "...was easier than I thought it would be."

Luigi stuffed the rings in his pocket, "I don't know what made you so afraid of using complex magic, but I hope from now on I can help you make it easier."

"Thanks, bro." Mario wrapped an arm around him, which Luigi reciprocated, "I think having you here makes everything easier."

"Aw, thanks, Mario." Luigi looked out the window, pressing his fingers to the glass, "So, where to next, Cappy?"

Cappy opened the door to gaze out through the sky, "It looks like The Wooded Kingdom is next. It's inhabited only by robots, and they grow flowers there."

"Robots that grow flowers." Luigi laughed a little to himself, "That's cute."

The Odyssey landed on the edge of a cliff that overlooked the flowers, and they found a path through the grass that led them down. Once they made it to the clearing, one of the robots noticed them and quickly wheeled over. It was rusty, and it resembled a watering can with ivy clinging to its body.

"Wait!" the robot blocked their path, balancing on one wheel, "Don't step on flowers!"

Luigi looked at said flowers, but they seemed harmless enough, "Why not?"

The robot glanced nervously at the sky, "Matriarch. Matriarch has begun to attack. Reprogrammed. Wrong. Can't explain."

Its short, choppy sentences were accentuated by the dull banging in the background. A giant robot flew overhead, resembling a white wind flower with two electric blue eyes sticking out of its head like a snail's eyestalks. It fixed them with a sinister glare, watching their feet for where they were stepping, and with a soft whir and a huff, it flew away.

"Oh." Luigi uneasily pointed up at it, "Is that your matriarch?"

"Yes. Lost mind." the robot stopped jittering once it was out of sight, and its spout drooped in relief, "We already tried to contact it, but it's holding too much power."

Mario watched the sky for anything unusual, "I'll bet it has a multi-moon."

Luigi nodded in agreement, "What'll it do if we step on the flowers?"

"Bad things." the robot backed off a little bit, "Last one who did hasn't been seen since. Dropped off the cliff, we think. There is land below, but it is dark and cold, and there is a big monster down there."

"That doesn't sound good." Luigi eyed just how many flowers were spread out around them, "Hey, was there an airship here earlier piloted by a giant spiky koopa?"

"Yes. You just missed him." the robot pointed ahead, along a path between the flowers, "Left big rabbit behind. Messing everything up for us."

"Then that's where we're headed." Luigi was careful with every step he took forward, "Come on, Mario."

Climbing the rest of the hill without touching a single flower was proving to be nigh impossible. They were slowed to a crawl as the flowers got closer and closer together, every step they took watched by the matriarch like a hawk. Luigi found his limbs shaking, and he had to pause for a long time just to calm himself down. It wasn't the same as being watched by ghosts, but it was similar enough that he had to bite down on his hand so he wouldn't cry.

_"Luigi."_ Mario whispered, taking his wrist in a firm grip, _"Look."_

The final rabbit, the wide one dressed in blue, jumped down from the airship to land in the clearing in front of them, "Well, you two are no fun! Say hello to Spewart! Your resident entertainer!"

The brothers made it to the clearing without harming any flowers, and Luigi nearly collapsed in relief, "Look, I'm really tired, can we just take your moon and be done with it?"

"What? No!" Spewart scoffed in disgust, "The party's only just started! Don't you at least want an _encore!?"_

He puffed up his cheeks as he shot a stream of poison from his mouth, and Mario shoved Luigi out of the way.

Looking back, every flower the poison had touched shriveled to a crisp, and the brothers looked at each other with mirrored expressions of horror.

The matriarch buzzed loudly, kicking up dust as its turbines sped up, and it snatched Spewart in an electrical beam, throwing him off the cliff as he screamed.

"No!" Mario ran to the edge.

"Oh shoot!" Luigi jumped in place, "What do we do what do we do!?"

In an impulsive act of inspiration, Mario grabbed fistfuls of the flowers and tore them from the ground. Luigi caught on soon after, and they reached for each other, holding on tight as they were thrown into the abyss.

Luigi broke their fall, creating a bubble around them just as he had before, and when it dispersed, they found themselves in a dark forest. Lurking nearby was a huge t-rex, sniffing around for any living thing it could sink its teeth into.

Mario began to shiver, and Luigi helped him stand, "You alright?"

"Yeah." Mario sneezed into his sleeve, "Yikes. I thought we were done with the cold."

"I know." Luigi's eyes glowed as he gazed around the cavern, "Cappy, Lucy, do you guys see where Spewart landed?"

A low-pitched cry from somewhere in the darkness hit them before either hat could answer, and the two brothers took off in that direction. Spewart had apparently caught the attention of the dinosaur, because he was running away from it, and he wasn't outrunning it anytime soon!

"Ack!" Luigi blocked the t-rex's path with an ice wall, and while it broke right through, it was also dazed.

Lucy gawked as its beady eyes landed on them, "Luigi! You just alerted it to our presence!"

"Oh boy." Luigi stood stiff as a board as the dinosaur roared at them, "Mario!"

Mario jumped in front of him, "Don't worry, Luigi! I'll protect you!"

He stomped his foot, creating a wall of fire that arched high into the air. He rolled his sleeves up before he waved his arms, throwing the fire at the t-rex and throwing it backwards into the trees. Lifting one arm, Mario summoned a wave of white-hot plasma from the sky, and he let the arm fall so it pointed towards the t-rex, blinding it in a flash of heat and light. He'd created a solar storm.

"Whoa!" Cappy's pupils turned white as he watched, "That was incredible!"

The dinosaur got up on shaking legs, running away as fast as it could. Mario turned his hand towards himself, smiling at the rush of warmth in his chest. He'd forgotten how good it felt to use so much magic.

"Huh?" Spewart approached them slowly, "You...chased that thing away? I thought you were my enemy. What are you doing here?"

"What, you thought we'd just leave you to your fate?" Luigi shivered as the rest of his fear melted away, "We're not heartless."

"But you...boss said you were out to ruin his wedding!"

Luigi let his mouth hang open as he thought of a suitable reply to that, "Wait...let's get out of here, and then I'm getting to the bottom of this."

They found a vine that they could climb all the way back up. The small airship reappeared, the other three Broodals confused at Spewart's lack of hostility, and all of them boarded the ship as Luigi began to talk.

"Okay." he said, "Who are you exactly? Are you Bowser's latest minions out to take over the world?"

"What? No!" Hariet gripped her skirt in angry fists, "We're wedding planners! We plan weddings! Boss hired us to do just that!"

"Yeah! We ain't lookin' to _cause_ trouble!" Rango added, "He paid us to do a job, and we plan to do it!"

Luigi and Mario made eye contact before the taller brother continued, "Let me ask you this, then; Have you spoken to the bride in all of this?"

The four rabbits stared at him with matching blank expressions.

"Well, now that you mention it..." Topper fiddled with his green tie, "We've only seen the bride twice, and we haven't spoken to her at all. That seems really odd for a wedding. Usually I talk to everyone involved through every step of the preparations."

Luigi reached into his pocket for the rings he still had nestled there, holding them briefly just to remind himself of what he was doing. Then, he spoke again, "That's because the bride is an unwilling participant. She's going along with it until we can stop it, but in reality, Peach is _my_ girlfriend, not Bowser's. She doesn't want to marry him."

The Broodals shared expressions of horror, considering the implications of what was just said.

"Wait, why should we trust you!?" Spewart demanded, "What you're suggesting is a serious accusation!"

"Well, that's easy." Luigi gave an indifferent shrug, "Talk to the bride, and talk to the tiara on her head. If you make it clear you're on their side, they'll tell you the truth. In the meantime, we need to catch up with Bowser so we can continue with our plan. Oh, and make sure he doesn't hear."

Topper snapped his jacket collar into place, "Very well. We'll do as you suggest, but if you're lying, I'll personally see to it that your eyeballs are made into party decorations!"

"I did _not_ need that image in my head." Luigi shuttered, "It's bad enough when I get that from my own arch nemesis."

Spewart reached into his pocket to procure a multi-moon, "Here. As thanks for saving my life."

Luigi took it, "Thank you."

"You have much better manners than the boss." Hariet leaned back on the railing of the airship, "Well, you'd best get going then. We'll get back to you when we decide whether to help you or kill you."

"Sure thing." Luigi pocketed the moon and leapt from the ship, "Come on, guys."

Once the Broodals were out of sight, the group weaved back and forth between the flowers once again, making it back to the top of the hill and watching for the robot matriarch.

"Well..." Luigi shared a glance with his brother, "Are you ready?"

Mario nodded, and Luigi plucked one of the flowers.

***


	12. Chapter 12

When they were done in the steam gardens, they had 9 moons, plenty enough to progress. The robots thanked them profusely for saving their matriarch, and they eagerly began to tear the flowers up to regrow them in better places. The Odyssey took to the sky, and Cappy reviewed the map.

"Well..." Luigi paced around the room, "Where to?"

Cappy sighed, "Just Bowser's Kingdom left. At least we've got the Broodals on our side."

"They could have been lying." Lucy spun around as she floated in circles, "You've seen how they've treated us so far!"

"They seemed genuine to me." Mario stood by the window, "Regardless though, we'll probably be in trouble as soon as we enter. We aren't exactly, uh, welcome there."

"I would guess that you probably aren't." Cappy took the green cap form to rest on Luigi's head.

"We should still talk to Peach, if we can." Luigi fell into an armchair, "We're running out of time. The wedding is tomorrow!"

The evening sun in the distance seemed to confirm that they had been out all day.

Luigi yawned, "Is it just me, or are we getting jet lagged?"

Mario pulled a watch from his pocket, "It's three am in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Yep. Jet lag."

"You guys need to sleep." Cappy hovered around them, "You look like you're at death's door, and you need to be on top of your game to stop this wedding."

Luigi shifted to one side of the chair, "I'll sleep if you do, Cappy."

In the resulting silence, the four of them began to drift off, and Mario made lazy circles with his fire until his heart was closer to smoldering embers than a proper fire.

"Mario?" Lucy said sleepily, "In your fight with Bowser, you said that you had felt love for someone. Was that just a bluff to get him off your back?"

Mario rested his head on the armrest, "Yeah. He doesn't ever listen to reason, and he was _hammering_ me for answers. Although, as I said it, I couldn't help but wish I could have screamed that my love for Luigi was far greater than whatever obsession he has for Peach. Just because I can't fall in love doesn't mean I can't love at all."

"I'm sure he wasn't trying to be insulting."

"Well, I was insulted." Mario gazed out the window with a look of pure hatred, "Luigi is everything to me, and I would never forgive myself if anything happened to him."

_"Okay, edgelord."_ Luigi mumbled, _"How about you try going to sleep?"_

Nobody spoke after that, and they didn't wake up until the sound of pounding drums could be heard in the distance.

***

When the Odyssey landed outside Bowser's Castle, Mario rolled his eyes at the elaborate Japanese-style architecture. Bowser redesigned his bases like a chameleon changes colors, but this was over the top, even for him. It did kinda make sense, the guy was convinced that he was getting married soon, but the smokescreen surrounding it was so thick that even clouds in the distance were impossible to see.

"Hey, idiots!"

They looked up, and the Broodal's airship descended upon them. Topper was the one who had spoken, and in his loose grip, he held the hand of a familiar false bride.

"Peach!" Luigi lifted his arms when she leapt for him, and he spun her around so her skirt billowed up around them, "Oh, it feels like it's been ages since I last saw you!"

"I missed you too, Love." she squeezed his hands upon being set down, "Mario!"

"Peach!" he gave her a hug as well, "I hope you've been okay in our absence."

"I'm fine, just nervous."

Topper climbed down from the airship, "She let us in on your little plan. I'm impressed, honestly. Couldn't have thought of it better myself."

Cappy, Lucy, and Tiara all huddled together to talk while Peach returned her attention to the two brothers, "Were you able to get the rings in order?"

"Yes!" Luigi took them from his pocket, "Try yours on. It should fit, but just in case."

She did, admiring the way the embers from around them reflected in the smooth metal, "You know, I don't think your ring size is anywhere close to Bowser's."

"Not even close." Luigi took her left hand to give it a kiss, "I could wear his ring as a bracelet."

"I bet you could." Peach took both rings, "I don't think I can give these to him, though. In fact, just looking at them could give away our plan."

"I wouldn't worry about that." Topper held out his hand, palm facing up, "Just hand 'em over to me, and I'll take care of it."

She only hesitated for a few moments before handing them over, "I'm putting a lot of trust in you, Topper."

"That's true." he stashed the rings, "But you can trust me when I say that I only have my client's best interests in mind. Always have. If Bowser is going to break the sanctity of marriage by forcing someone to be his spouse against their will, then he doesn't deserve a wedding in the first place. Even we have our limits, your highness."

"I know." Peach gave him a short bow, "Thank you."

"No problem. Now we'd better get going before he suspects we're gone!"

"Okay." Peach gave each brother one last hug before climbing back on the airship.

"Bye, Cappy!" Tiara hugged him, "I hope this will all be over soon!"

"Me too, sis." he watched her leave, something like wistfulness in his eyes.

Lucy took Luigi's head while Cappy took Mario's, and once the Broodals were gone, they headed further in to look for more power moons.

Nobody talked much during this, although they didn't need to stay long to get all the moons they needed, seeing as Bowser's castle was bursting at the seams from their power. Once they had enough, they turned to head back when the exit closed off.

"Huh? What gives?" Cappy sagged with added weight, "Did Bowser catch us after all?"

"I don't know, but I'm not sticking around this door if it won't open." Luigi tilted Lucy up, "Let's go back. Maybe we missed something."

As they walked, the atmosphere grew increasingly heavy. The smoke seemed to get thicker the further they looked for an exit, and it only cleared on the roof of the castle, where Bowser was waiting in his tailored suit.

Luigi's footsteps left frost behind them, and Mario placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him, though his fire core was alight with anxiety as well.

"What are you doing here?" Bowser tried to stay calm, "I don't break into your home and start stealing your stuff."

"What!? Yes you do!" Luigi facepalmed, "I lost my favorite chair because of you! Or did you forget?"

"Okay whatever!" smoke poured from Bowser's mouth and nose, "You aren't going to ruin this! Peach belongs to me!"

Something in Luigi snapped, "No she isn't! You know what!? I'll destroy you just for saying that!"

Mario blocked him with his arm.

"Huh? Bro..."

Mario's gaze hardened, "He's trying to make you angry, Luigi."

"Well, it's working!" Luigi pounded his fists together, "I'm gonna freeze him so badly that archeologists will find him fully intact in a thousand years!"

"I'm sure you will." Mario gestured with his eyes, "But don't forget about Peach. She's counting on you not to lose your focus."

Luigi took a breath to steady his anger, "I won't. You know me."

"I know."

Standing back-to-back, Mario and Luigi rose their powers, creating a split of red and blue light that spread over the battlefield like wildfire, and Bowser charged at them, swiping with his claws. Luigi pelted him with ice crystals while Mario made the floor too hot to stand on everywhere except wherever Luigi would land after jumping. Bowser hit the ice out of the air, and despite how much Mario turned up the temperature, he would just hop more quickly across it to avoid getting burned. He dropped the field, simply rising columns of lava that knocked Bowser around, though those also didn't burn him badly enough to cause suitable damage.

Luigi nodded towards Mario, who withdrew his powers as he spread ice across the ground, and Mario took his turn throwing small meteors that Bowser was forced to dodge while sliding on the ice. He wasn't just letting himself get hit, of course, in fact the more the brothers threw at him, the more he seemed to just get used to it and fight back with equal ferocity. Bowser breathed a long flame across the ice, and Luigi just narrowly avoided burning to a crisp.

"Luigi!" Mario threw a rock wall in front of him to catch the flames, but it still grazed Luigi's leg, which he had to use ice to put out.

"Face it, you insolent block-punchers!" Bowser rose more fire around him, "You'll never stop me! You'll die here, and your princess will be my bride!"

"Shut up!" Luigi rose a blizzard, harsh enough that it knocked Bowser back a few feet, "You won't get away with it! You won't kill us, and you won't marry Peach! How many times do I have to-!"

"I will never listen!" Bowser blocked the blizzard with a solar flare, "I will never listen because you don't love her! You're just trying to take her away from me!"

"KEEP THAT UP AND I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE DEAD!"

"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!"

"THEN DO IT! I DARE YOU!" the storm around Luigi rose ever higher, even to the point of straining his core, "I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU DESTROY YOURSELF WITH YOUR OWN SELF-IMPOSED DESTRUCTIVE EXCUSE FOR A-!

Bowser cut him off with another blast of fire, and Luigi flew back into the ground.

"NO!" Mario jumped in front of him, "DON'T HURT HIM, YOU MONSTER!"

Luigi hastily threw up another shield when the sweltering temperature rose even more, high enough to cook anything within shouting distance of the battlefield. Fire passed back and forth between Mario and Bowser until they blurred together, and Mario pushed back against the flames, throwing them away from himself even as the pressure built up in his core, the strings that held him together close to snapping-!

Luigi wrapped both arms around him from behind, and in an instant, the sweltering heat fell to a more bearable range.

Luigi opened his eyes, and their glow was bright enough to rival that of a lighthouse. The blizzard came back full-force, and in one last desperate push, Bowser was hit with a wave of fire and ice that threw him to the ground. He didn't get up again.

When the magic dispersed, the blue sky was visible above them, even throughout the thick smoke of the torches and bonfires.

They didn't wait to see what would happen next. Luigi grabbed Mario's hand and they bolted, putting as much distance between them and the koopa king as possible. The barriers had fallen, that's really what mattered. Once inside the Odyssey, they took off, and in a moment were on their way to the moon.

***


	13. Chapter 13

With half the moons they needed to be at full power, they ascended through the sky until it was completely black, the sun reflecting off the planet in a brilliant ocean blue. Luigi, seated in his chair, watched Mario stand at the window. Something about the battle must have shaken him, because he had that same faraway haunted look in his eyes as before. Underusing your powers and then suddenly using them to that extent was bound to have bad physical effects, but Luigi knew there must be more to it than that. He stayed quiet, though. He had a feeling that pressing him now was a bad idea, so he figured he'd wait for when Mario was ready to talk.

It took a long time, but eventually, Mario said, "Luigi...there's something I need to tell you."

Luigi left the chair to stand beside him. Sensing their tension, Lucy and Cappy left the cabin, returning to the wheel to pretend they were steering. Mario wasn't even looking at the scene outside, instead fixed on the window pane, perhaps even at his own reflection.

Luigi wrapped an arm around him, "What is it?"

Mario touched the glass, tracing the shape of the window with one finger, "I don't know why I thought I could keep this from you. It's not just about me, you were there too, and so was Bowser."

"Huh? But Mario..." Luigi was too baffled to not speak up, "I _wasn't_ there. If I was, I would have remembered it."

Mario's gaze darkened even further, "Not necessarily."

Luigi had more questions than answers at that point, but he decided not to break the silence. Mario continued, his voice growing softer as he spoke.

"Do you remember when I saved Peach from Bowser's galaxy in the center of the universe?"

"Of course I do. It wasn't even two years ago." Luigi replied, "Why?"

Mario sighed, "Well...originally... _you_ saved her and the universe." he looked up to meet Luigi's gaze, "Not me."

Luigi couldn't wrap his head around that, "What? What do you mean, 'originally'?"

"I mean exactly what I said." Mario's lip quivered slightly, but he didn't waver, "Bowser wasn't happy at his defeat, but there wasn't much he could do about it...at least, not until his unstable galaxy collapsed and caused a massive black hole to form. It was so powerful that it sucked everything into it. _Everything._ Including you and me. In a bright flash of light, I was back in bed at home, and I received a letter inviting me to the castle for the star festival, just as I had previously, a few days ago. Rosalina explained it to me after it all happened. Sometimes, the universe will destroy itself and start over from the beginning, but the cycle never repeats itself in quite the same way."

Luigi paled as he considered the implications, "How many times did we fight Bowser, then?"

Mario thought about. No turning back now, "I think four. In the first timeline, I was injured in the previous fight, so you went without me. The second time, we did it together. The third time we both tried, but we failed, and the fourth time, I went alone and succeeded, which is the timeline you remember."

"So what does this have to do with..." Luigi forced his mouth shut, afraid he was pressing too hard.

"Well..." Mario let his hands fall from the window, "The second run was when I found out that I remembered the previous runs but you didn't. I realized I could use that knowledge to my advantage, and I avoided getting injured so we could save Peach together. It worked, but Bowser remembered previous runs too. He couldn't take his defeat, so he let the black hole form again, and we had to start everything all over _again._ He had learned from his mistake too, and it was only a matter of time before things went horribly wrong."

Luigi held him close, "Hey, Mario, listen. Everything will be okay."

Mario squeezed his eyes shut, shaking with sobs he was desperately trying to hold back.

"Oh, Luigi..." he wrapped both arms around him, "You died. Bowser killed you."

Luigi started, unable to respond for a moment, "What?"

"He _killed_ you!" Mario cried, "He murdered you in cold blood and I watched the light leave your eyes! I held you close to me and I could feel your ice core turning black and charred as it died with you!"

Luigi felt his knees shaking, but he held himself up, if only to provide comfort.

"I lost you." Mario squeezed him, his arms shaking violently, "And then, I lost control. I was so angry and sad that I lashed out with my magic. I wanted Bowser to hurt like he hurt you. I wanted him to suffer."

Luigi knelt in front of him, predicting the next part of the story though he hoped he'd be wrong, "You killed Bowser."

Mario's head hung as he nodded.

Luigi stood once again, at a complete loss for words.

Mario headed to one of the chairs to sit down, "I didn't just kill him. I _tortured_ him. I purposely put him in so much pain that he couldn't even scream, and I _loved_ it. It disgusted me how much I enjoyed hurting him, but I didn't care. He had murdered you, and I wasn't about to let him get away with that."

Luigi could feel bile rising up in his throat, but he forced it down and chased the morbid thoughts from his mind.

"It wasn't until he was long dead when I finally came back to my senses." Mario looked at his hands, something like fear crossing his features, "I couldn't believe that I had been capable of such an act of violence. I don't know how long I stayed there, knowing that not only were you gone, but I was a murderer. Bowser may not be my favorite person ever, but that doesn't mean I want him dead, and yet I couldn't deny what I had done."

Luigi didn't dare interrupt. He simply stood between the chairs and the window, knowing that Mario must have been holding all of this in for a long time.

"The universe reset as usual, but it didn't matter. Knowing you were alive again only reminded me of what had happened. So, realizing what had to be done, I didn't grab you on the way to the star festival. I let you get lost with the toads, and I let you separate from me as I went into the final battle alone. If you weren't there, then Bowser couldn't kill you, and this time, with Rosalina's help, the universe didn't reset again. Instead, when Bowser's universe collapsed in on itself, I woke up in front of Peach's castle with her and Bowser and you, all together. You remembered the current timeline, and Bowser lost the star power needed to try again, so he finally gave up. Whether or not he remembered _everything_ is up in the air, but he never brought it up again."

Mario made eye contact with Luigi, and for the first time, he finally understood why his brother seemed so far away when reminiscing about this trauma he carried. He had seen Luigi die right in front of him, so whenever he was with him now, it was like he was looking at a ghost.

Luigi cursed under his breath, "Mario, why didn't you ever tell me this?"

"Why do you think?" Mario stood to face him, "Just thinking about it now makes me feel sick! How could I look you in the eyes, my younger twin brother, my other half and my only sibling, and tell you that I had seen you die? That I was afraid of losing you for good? That I had killed Bowser, not to save you, but to punish him for daring to lay a finger on you?"

Luigi let his expression soften. He didn't have an answer for that.

"I only tell you now because I realized that I had failed you again." Mario averted his gaze, "I kept you in the dark all this time as I left you out of my adventures, even going so far as to leave in the middle of the night without telling you, and I let you believe that it was because I didn't believe in you. Even after I told you that I just wanted you to be safe, you still believed all this time that I didn't trust you to keep yourself safe. It was all in the name of protecting you, and yet...what I've done to you is unforgivable."

"Mario..."

"I may as well have killed you myself for all that I've made you feel."

"Mario."

"All I can say now is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry I hurt you, I'm sorry I treated you like a child, I'm sorry I didn't trust you, I'm sorry for still failing to protect you even now!"

"Mario, listen to me!" Luigi towered over him, taking advantage of his height, "You've been traumatized! You saw something that psychologically scarred you, and instead of seeking help for it, you took it out on me! Do you know how much of a failure that makes me!? There was something wrong with you all this time, and not only did I not suspect anything for way too long, I blamed you for infantilizing me and being an egotistical snob with a hero complex! Is that any way to treat someone who just needs to be assured that his family is safe!? That he won't go crazy and kill someone!? If anything, _I've_ made everything worse! Not you!"

"Luigi!"

"No! Let me finish!" Luigi was winded, but he kept talking, "You've been hurt in a way that is unimaginable to the average person, even to me, and yet I still have the gall, the _audacity_ to have _you_ apologizing to _me_ instead of the other way around! Is there any failure more agonizing than that!?"

Neither of them spoke for a long time after that. They simply stared each other down, waiting to see if the other would crack first.

_"Are they done yelling at each other? Is this really necessary?"_

_"You don't have siblings, Lucinda, you wouldn't understand."_

_"My name is not Lucinda!"_

The hats talking outside made both of them lose the stand off, and they looked away from each other, at a loss for how to proceed.

"Mario, I'm sorry." Luigi said at last, "I should have realized...I should have tried harder to help you..."

"No, it wouldn't have mattered." Mario took his hands and gave them a squeeze, "I wouldn't have let you help me. My ego does play a role. I don't want to be weak. I thought I could handle it, and I didn't want you to have to deal with it."

Luigi's voice came out too quiet as he began to cry, _"Will you let me help you now?"_

Mario cried along with him, _"Yes."_

And then they hugged each other, their magic rising up around them in response to their emotions. Mario buried his face in Luigi's shoulder, and there was no force in the universe that could have torn him away.

When Mario could breathe again, he whispered, _"I'll accept your apology if you accept mine."_

Luigi gave his torso a squeeze, _"Consider it done."_

It was a few more minutes before Cappy returned, "Hey guys, I hate to break up a touching family moment, but we're here."

Luigi broke away first to playfully ruffle Mario's hair, "You hear me, bro? From now on, we're a team. Equal partners. Deal?"

Mario shook his hand, "Deal."

He knew it wasn't just a matter of trusting his brother. He'd also been shining a spotlight on Luigi as if his life mattered more than his own, even though logically he knew that was unfair.

It would be hard to fix this, but Luigi was worth it, and so was he.

***


	14. Chapter 14

Cappy landed on Luigi's head with a flourish as the Odyssey touched down outside the church on Honeylune Ridge. In a flash of light, Luigi was back in the tailored white suit, and he adjusted the sleeve cuffs as they disembarked.

Mario looked up as Lucy took her spot on his head, and he gave Luigi an amused pat on the back, "You nervous?"

"Well, yeah." Luigi brushed down the button up shirt, "I'm going to get fake married to someone I'm madly in love with on TV in front of the whole world! Why wouldn't I be nervous?"

Mario smiled at him, "Because Peach will be there."

They looked up as the church bell chimed, and a few lunar birds flew away, startled by the noise.

Luigi laughed softly into his hands, _"Peach will be there..."_

"That's right." Mario urged him forward, "Peach will know what to do. If you ever feel overwhelmed by everything going on around you, just focus on her. She has a knack for situations like this."

"It makes sense. She's been in the public spotlight longer than us." Luigi swayed on his feet, "Mario, I love her so much!"

"I know you do." Mario opened the door and pulled him to the side of the room, "Hey, this is going to be monumental, but I'll be right there with you. I believe in you, okay?"

Luigi nodded, "Thanks, bro. That means a lot to me."

He ran off to hide, and Mario entered the room with the altar. Topper was checking his pocket watch near the back of the room, but once his eyes landed on Mario, he made a beeline for him.

"Hey! You made it!" Topper looked over Mario's shoulder, "Where's your brother?"

"He's hiding nearby." Mario said, "You got everything set up?"

"The only thing missing is the rejected groom." Topper headed off, "Get ready!"

Mario hid in the crowd while he surveyed the area. Pauline was nearby with a whole camera crew, and she gave Mario a thumbs up once she saw him. All the guests were familiar, including polar bears from Shiveria, forks from the Luncheon Kingdom, and robots from Steam Gardens. Mario caught Luigi hiding in the rafters, and he shot him a smile and a thumbs up.

"Mario!" Peach ran to him, "Where's Luigi?"

Luigi stifled a gasp from his hiding spot.

"He's nearby, don't worry." Mario cupped a hand around his mouth, "Now, you'd better get ready for the main event."

Peach saluted at him before heading off, and Tiara hissed, _"Hi Lucy!"_ before they were out of earshot.

Mario continued to hide in the crowd until Bowser showed up, his suit repaired as much as it could be on such short notice. Luigi nervously tugged on his collar, and Cappy whispered something to him that Mario couldn't hear.

"About time you showed up!" Topper flipped open his pocket watch, "What's the holdup?"

"That isn't important right now!" Bowser dragged Peach to the altar, "Let's get this over with before something goes wrong!"

Luigi leapt from the rafters, hiding behind the crowd and out of Mario's view.

"Well, Boss, you know the drill." Topper held out a small pillow with the two silver rings on it.

Mario watched intently as Peach slid the smaller ring onto her finger. As Bowser lifted the ring that was clearly too small for him, Luigi ran to him, jutting out his left arm to slide the ring on his own finger, right under Bowser's nose.

He came to a stop, turning around to take Peach's hand, "Don't mind if I do."

Bowser opened his mouth to shout, but no sound escaped him. Instead, he stood dumbfounded, trapped between many unsavory options that would make everything worse for him.

Luigi stood up, not daring to take his eyes off Peach for fear of losing his nerve, "Princess Peach Toadstool, will you do me the honor of being my bride until death do us part?"

"Yes, of course!" Peach gave him a huge hug, "I would love to!"

Luigi looked into her eyes. There were so many things he wanted to say to her. He could have poured his heart out about how happy he was to have been her friend for so long and how grateful he was that she accepted his feelings and loved him almost as much as he loved her. He was bursting with emotions that overwhelmed him to the point of bringing tears to his eyes.

But instead, he simply said, "My princess."

She took his face in her hands, leaning in close enough to brush their foreheads together, "My hero."

With nothing stopping him, Luigi closed the gap between them, pressing his lips gently to hers. The crowd began to cheer as Luigi's arms snaked around her waist, holding her firmly against him like he feared she would be snatched away again. He had to lean back to not break away preemptively because of her height, but he loved it. He loved every second of it, and by the time he finally broke the kiss, he did so reluctantly.

Bowser huffed as he stomped out of the room, and Luigi sighed blissfully, his nervousness replaced by pure joy.

"Oh, Princess." Luigi laughed, "Peach, Love, I think this might be the happiest day of my life!"

Peach smiled, "You're such a sweetheart, Luigi. I love you."

"I love you too."

As the party wrapped up, Cappy and Tiara escaped to chat while Mario rejoined the happy couple. The cameramen left, and Pauline stayed long enough to congratulate them on a job well done.

As the last few guests trickled out, Lucy said, "You know, not that I expected this to fail or anything, but I did not expect it to go as well as it did."

"No kidding." Luigi swept up a slice of the huge frosted cake, "Don't expect it to be over, though. Bowser is probably planning something as we speak."

"I know _I'm_ keeping a sharp eye out." Lucy hovered beside him, "Hey, I'm glad I went with you guys on this adventure. Come visit us in Bonneton any time!"

"Of course! And don't feel shy about visiting _us_ in the Mushroom Kingdom!"

"I would love to! What's it like?"

"Oh, rolling green hills, an endless blue sky, mushrooms that grow bigger than houses...I suppose it's not too impressive compared to other places, but it's home." Luigi lifted a forkful of cake to his mouth, "Hm? Where'd Mario go?"

Lucy gestured to where Mario was holding a bowl of soup up to his mouth to slurp the contents.

"Of course." Luigi gently elbowed him, "Your spouse will always be food."

"I will marry this soup, Luigi. Just watch me." Mario took another gulp, "This is the best thing I've ever tasted."

"That's what you say every time to eat anything." Luigi took another bite of his cake, "You need to try this cake. It tastes like if you baked a cloud into merengue."

"If you think I'm cheating on my lovely spouse soup for a cake..." Mario tossed the empty bowl aside, "...then you're absolutely right lemme see that."

Once the only remaining guests were occupied, Luigi swept his gaze over Mario, and once he noticed, he set his plate aside, cake forgotten.

"I hate to bring this up again, but..." Luigi lowered his voice, "...I'm still kind of worried about you. I plan on talking to you once we get home, but you know I'm always here if you need me."

Mario smiled, though it felt a little heavier than usual, "Thanks, Weegee."

"No problem, bro."

As the three humans and three hats wandered towards the exit, uneasy at the silence over the whole church, the floor suddenly dropped as a trap door opened up beneath them. Peach tumbled into the darkness while Luigi managed to catch the edge of the floor where Mario stood, not far enough over the trap to fall in.

"Peach!" Luigi braced himself before he let go, and Mario quickly dove in after them before the door had a chance to close.

***

Peach floated gracefully to the floor while Luigi fell on his face and Mario landed hard on his stomach.

"Ouch." Luigi got up to run to Peach, "Are you alright? What happened?"

Peach wasn't looking at him. Luigi followed her line of sight to see that Bowser was hiding in the shadows, and he emerged until they could clearly see him in the low light of the cavern.

"Bowser!" Luigi leapt in front of Peach, his eyes glowing, "Don't even think about it!"

"Oh, Luigi..." Bowser laughed, "I already have."

He snapped his fingers, and the Binding Band came down from the ceiling. It swept her up from around her waist and lifted her away, despite Luigi lunging for her. Cappy returned to Luigi's head, and Lucy returned to Mario's.

"Nice suit." Bowser lifted an arm to block their path to Peach, who was now helplessly dangling from a rope that held the giant bejeweled ring, "Where'd you get it, the costume store?"

"Very funny, Bowser." Luigi grit his teeth as tears formed in his eyes, "Nice hat. Did you get it from the hardware store?"

Tiara hid behind Mario, trembling in terror.

"Funny you should mention my hat." Bowser took its brim in his hand, "Because it's not affected by fire or by ice."

Mario took a step back, _"Tiara. Follow me."_

She took his shirt in her cold grip as he inched his way along the outside of the battlefield, hidden beneath the shadows as he took cautious steps through the near pitch-black darkness. Neither Luigi nor Bowser noticed, both preparing for the other's attack.

Mario made it to Bowser's side, barely daring to breathe, _"Go to her. Help her."_

Tiara made a small squeaking sound as she flew up to Peach, who was attempting to break free from the band that ensnared her.

Luigi's eyes darted up to her for a second, and his ice died down a little.

"What's the matter?" Bowser drawled, not even bothering to look behind him, "Afraid your magic will hurt your precious princess?"

Luigi's anger rose up again, but he didn't reply.

Mario crept back along the edge of the arena, not sure what was causing the standstill and nervous about breaking it.

_"Mario."_ Lucy said, just barely above a whisper, _"You can protect Peach. Luigi will be less nervous if she's not in his path."_

Giving a single nod, Mario flicked his wrist to raise a shield around the princess. She saw it, and Luigi saw it, but Bowser didn't. Recognizing the magic, Peach shot Luigi a determined glare and a thumbs up, and he took that as his green light, throwing the biggest snowball he could muster and chucking it at his adversary. 

It broke the tension like a hammer through thin glass, and Bowser was quick to throw his own fire back at him. Jumping as high as he could, Luigi threw ice beneath him to disperse the fire. When he landed, he jumped again, weaving between the flames and throwing up shields whenever possible. Luigi threw one of those shields at Bowser, and it clipped his side, knocking him backwards and spilling flames over the edge of the arena.

Meanwhile, Mario focused on defense. Somehow, he felt that this battle was Luigi's to win, but he didn't want to do nothing. As he continued to throw up shield after shield, he began to notice a pink haze over the battlefield, and Bowser began to grow sluggish while Luigi gained more strength overtime. Looking up, Mario caught sight of Peach waving her arm, the other braced against the ring that still held her prisoner.

Bowser threw his hat, which sent Luigi sprawling over the arena. He just barely caught the slippery, dusty edge with one hand, and Mario ran to pull him back up.

"Thanks." he huffed, receiving a nod from Mario.

Sensing an opportunity, Mario threw up another rock wall, blocking Bowser's path, and Bowser threw his hat again, this time throwing it hard enough to break all of Mario's shields. Luigi shoved Mario to the ground, and the hat sailed over their heads.

"This isn't working!" Luigi grabbed Mario's arm to yank him backwards, "We need a new plan!"

"Give it up, Mario Brothers!" Bowser reeled his arm back, "Peach belongs to _me!"_

When the hat came sailing back towards them, Mario threw Lucy as hard as he could, and the hat flipped over.

Luigi threw the hat over his head, which grew the giant mechanical boxing gloves, and Mario deflected the fire that Bowser threw at him. Luigi froze the ground to skate forward as fast as he could, but when he began to swing the boxing gloves, Bowser threw out a circle of fire and Luigi was thrown back, stunned long enough for Bowser to swipe at him with his claws. Luigi gasped as his shirt was torn open, and Bowser took the opportunity to punch him across the battlefield.

"NO!" Mario ran after him, but Bowser grabbed the back of his shirt to hold him up to the light, and he pulled his collar off his throat as he kicked his legs in the air, "LET ME GO LET ME GO DON'T HURT HIM!"

"If he wanted to be spared, then he shouldn't have taken my bride!"

Mario gasped for air, attempting to scream as he kept scratching at the fabric that was cutting off his windpipe.

"MARIO! LUIGI!" Peach doubled down on her efforts to break free, but the Binding Band was magically keeping her in place.

"Mario!" Luigi jumped high into the air, slamming into the ground hard enough to knock Bowser back.

Mario hit the ground before he started coughing, taking huge gulps of air as static filled his vision.

"Come on!" Luigi yanked him to his feet, "Don't give up now, bro! Hurry! Let's go!"

Bowser hit them with another wave of fire, and Luigi's eyes fluttered closed as he slumped over, his ice core melting into a blackened coal.

Mario caught him, his heart leaping into his throat. Luigi wasn't dead yet, but the heat had sapped away at his magic to the point where he was fighting for his life, his breaths coming shallow and weak as his skin flushed bright red. Mario's throat closed up, and this time it was almost impossible for him to breathe.

Bowser inhaled to breathe more fire, but Mario tossed a rock into his throat and he began to choke on it. Once he spit it out, he ran for Mario, and he threw a solar flare in response. He shoved back with everything he had, bracing against the dusty ground to push harder and harder, getting closer and closer to the edge until Bowser was fighting to keep his balance and avoid tumbling into the darkness below.

"Mario!" Peach reached for him, "What are you doing!? Stop!"

He didn't hear her. He was angry enough that the furnace in his heart was exploding outward like a nuclear bomb, and he was throwing it all out into this attack.

"Mario! You'll kill him!" Cappy hovered by Luigi's side, "Let up a little bit!"

"Mario!" Lucy leapt from Mario's head, shaking his flaming outstretched arm, "Can you hear me!? You're losing control! If you keep going like this, you could kill him!"

Luigi crawled over to him, his lungs burning as he reached out and grabbed Mario's pant leg. The action caused Mario's fire to dim a little bit.

It made him hesitate.

_"Mario...stop."_ Luigi begged, _"He's trying to make you angry, remember? Don't...don't let him..."_

he fell to the ground, clutching his chest as his core filled with burning pain.

Mario felt an icy chill run up his spine, and he dropped the fire as Bowser fell forward. What was he doing? He was just so angry...

There was no star magic to help him this time. He wouldn't get a second chance.

He slowly reached up to touch his own face, his whole body shaking from the dread that chilled him to his core.

Bowser fell unconscious, seemingly defeated, and the Binding Band dispersed, allowing Peach to float to the ground and run to the others.

"Luigi!" Peach knelt beside him, her magic pouring over him in waves as she attempted to revive him.

Mario didn't move. He simply let his head hang as his eyes shadowed over. He didn't do anything aside from lose himself in his own mental anguish until Luigi placed a hand on his shoulder and the world snapped back into focus.

"Mario." Luigi forced him to turn, "Mario, look at me."

Mario pursed his lips, but he didn't look up and he didn't speak.

"Mario." Luigi lightly shook his shoulders, "Mario! _Mario!"_

"What!?"

Luigi gripped him tighter, "Are you listening to me? It's okay. You lost control for a minute there, but you're okay now. Bowser's okay. See? He's breathing. I'm okay, too. Nobody died and we got our princess back. It's okay."

Mario finally met his gaze, and he frowned at the dark circles under Luigi's eyes.

He fiddled with the collar on his shirt, which was stretched out from when it had choked him, "Luigi...I almost..."

"I know, but listen." Luigi held him up when he threatened to fall over, "You didn't. I get it, I was ready to throttle Bowser for what he tried to do, but he's fine."

"But what if he hadn't been?"

Luigi sighed, "Then we would forgive you."

Mario didn't respond to that. He simply stood there stiffly as Luigi pulled him into a hug.

"It's okay." he said, "I promise. Everything is okay."

Mario deflated in his hold, letting out a slow breath of air as he attempted in vain to stay calm. Before he could hug him back though, the ground rumbled, and the arena collapsed beneath them, sending them all tumbling into the darkness below.

***


	15. Chapter 15

Mario opened his eyes to bright orange all around him. They'd fallen down to the core of the moon, where lava surrounded them on all sides. As soon as Mario remembered what had just happened, he leapt to his feet, looking all around for where the others had fallen.

"Yikes. That was a bad fall." Lucy was still on his head, "Are you alright?"

Mario's eyes fell on Luigi, and he carefully helped him to his feet, "Jeez, Luigi! Are you okay!?"

"Ugh..." Luigi exhaled as he wiped his forehead, "It's too hot..."

Peach stood beside Bowser, still passed out, "What do we do?"

Mario raked a hand through his hair, knocking Lucy aside, and she took her default form beside him. Cappy hovered between them, his stubby arms wringing together anxiously. The platform they were on was too far from solid ground to risk going over the lava, and the only way out was through a solid brick wall. The lava was steadily rising, so there was no time to break it, and Luigi was quickly overheating, especially after his core was extinguished so violently.

Mario glanced over at the slumped form of Bowser, and an idea struck him hard enough to make him take a step back.

Grabbing Cappy from out of the air, he threw him so he landed on Bowser's head.

Cappy seemed surprised at first, but he gave Mario a determined side-glance as he was sucked into Bowser's head. Swimming through the vortex, he emerged through Bowser's body, taking control of him as his senses snapped into focus.

When he opened his eyes, he looked up at Peach and Luigi. Lucy and Tiara shared a glance with each other while Luigi knelt down to face him.

"Mario?"

Mario nodded, carefully getting to his feet. The furnace in Bowser's core roared even hotter than Mario was used to from his own magic, and it felt familiar enough to comfort him.

Mario laughed in Bowser's gravelly voice, "Let's get out of here!"

"Yeah ha!" Luigi jumped as he punched the air, "Great idea, bro!"

Mario reached out Bowser's hand to help Peach climb up on his shoulder, and Luigi took the other one, each remaining hat finding a head to camp out on.

"Yes!" Peach held onto one of Bowser's horns as Mario gave a massive roar.

Before the rising lava could reach them, Mario clawed through the brick wall, breaking through it in only four hits. Jumping over low walls and climbing up the steep slope, he felt the fire rise from his chest up his throat, and he breathed fire up onto the distant walls, which cracked and melted. The lava began to rise higher and higher, and Mario sprinted as Luigi and Peach held on tighter to prevent themselves from falling off.

Shiny moon rocks began to fall rapidly from the ceiling above, and Mario was forced to dodge them as he continued to climb. He came across the wall of the cavern, and before the lava could reach him, he jumped onto it, clawing his way up to the top as fast as he could.

"Ah! Bro!" Luigi flailed, wrapping both arms around Bowser's neck, "It's getting higher! Hurry!"

Mario climbed up onto the top of the wall, and he kept running as the moon rocks fell faster and faster. The walls around them burst open, spilling lava in waves, crashing through the bricks and rushing towards them. Up ahead, there was another brick wall blocking their path, and after Mario clawed through it, he spotted a bigger rock surrounded by rocky pillars, stuck to the ground with reflective crystals. Thinking fast, he destroyed the crystals to push the pillars into the big rock to break it open. Inside was another moon rock. Before the lava could reach them, he hit the rock continuously, over and over again, until it exploded, revealing an electrical pole with a wire that led out.

Mario threw Cappy at it, and all of them disappeared into the wire, shooting out into the sky.

Once they hit the ground, Mario was booted violently from Bowser, and all of them collapsed across the white surface of the moon.

Luigi extended his hand to Mario, and he accepted it as he pulled him to his feet, "Bro, that was so cool! I didn't even think of capturing Bowser!"

Mario giddily hopped in place, "It was incredible! Bowser has so much strength and power, it was unreal!"

Luigi hit his shoulder with the back of his hand, "There's your hero side coming out again."

Peach barreled into them, hugging them tightly, "Oh, I'm so relieved! I can't wait to go home!"

The three hats all emerged, flying around in a circle as they held hands and laughed together.

Bowser stirred, opening bleary eyes and shakily getting to his feet, one hand on his head.

Mario and Luigi jumped in front of Peach to block Bowser's path, but he made no move to take her back. Instead, he simply turned around and walked away, stumbling a bit from sheer exhaustion.

"Uh..." Luigi scratched his head, "You think he's gonna try again?"

"I highly doubt it. He looks defeated enough." Mario rolled his shoulders, "Even Bowser knows when he's been had."

Luigi turned to Mario, "Hey, are you okay?"

Mario sighed long and slow as he massaged his temples, "I don't know. I feel rotten."

"Well, you aren't." Luigi took his hands between them, "I'm sorry. I realize now how similar that was to...well, nevermind that. We made it out, and nobody died."

Mario was about to argue back, but instead he said, "It doesn't matter. This doesn't feel like a victory to me. I was ready to tear Bowser's throat out so he couldn't even scream, and I didn't even fully recognize what I was doing."

"Hey, Mario." Luigi hugged him tight, "This is what happens when you try to handle everything yourself. You're tearing apart at the seams."

Mario didn't reply.

"It's going to be okay." Luigi held the back of his head, holding him close even as he shook, "I know you don't feel great right now, but you will. I promise."

Mario returned the hug, and he couldn't help but feel so safe. There was nobody he trusted more than his beloved brother, so when he said he would be okay with such confidence, it was easy to believe him.

Luigi threw a soft icy haze over the both of them, and Mario closed his eyes as he soaked in the comfort. Fire met ice as he calmed down, and they swirled around each other in perfect harmony.

Mario smiled softly in the embrace. Maybe he would be okay.

***

Mario dozed under his favorite tree near Peach's castle, letting the sunlight warm his face as the breeze rustled the leaves above. Cappy sighed atop his head, also dozing after a long day.

The tree swayed, and Mario opened his eyes. Luigi was lying across the lowest branch, his arms folded in front of him and his legs in the air behind him.

He gave Mario a playful smile, "Hey, bro!"

Mario matched the smile, "Hey, Luigi. What are you doing?"

Luigi dropped into the grass beside him, "I was just giving Lucy a tour. I should have known you would sleep as soon as we got home."

Cappy yawned, his eyes squeezing shut as his brim lifted over Mario's hair, "What, aren't you tired?"

"A little, but Lucy's excitedness is contagious." Luigi poked her, earning a giggle from the cap, "How are you feeling?"

Mario suppressed an eye roll, "Luigi, that's the fourth time you've asked."

Luigi tilted his head to the side as he stuck out his bottom lip, "Humor me?"

"Alright alright." Mario crossed one foot over his knee, "I'm fine, but I can't stop thinking about what Bowser almost did. I only hope now that he gets the message."

"No kidding." Luigi plucked a flower from the grass, "Well, Peach is packing up to travel the world with Tiara, so we're on our own for now. Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all."

Luigi lay beside him, pushing Lucy off his forehead to wipe the sweat from his brow. He twisted the flower stem between his fingers, his thoughts wandering with the distant clouds.

"Sorry I keep fussing over you." he said softly, "I just feel so bad about dismissing what you feel when you never did that to me."

"No, Luigi." Mario touched his arm, "It was me who pushed you away. You couldn't have known what I was really feeling."

"That doesn't stop me from feeling bad about it." Luigi tucked the flower into his pocket, turning his head towards his brother, "But I'm here now. I don't want you to ever forget that."

"Trust me, Luigi. I won't."

In the resulting silence, Luigi took Lucy off his head to whisper something to her, and she defaulted to her bowler hat form before grabbing Cappy and dragging him away.

Once they were gone, Luigi took Mario's hand at his side, "Mario...if anything ever happens to me, I need you to promise me that you won't give up."

"Huh?" Mario looked at him, but he was dead serious, "Luigi...I can't do that."

"Please, bro." Luigi rolled onto his side to better face him, "I want you to keep going no matter what. You have so much going for you, and I'd hate for you to lose that because you were trapped in an endless cycle of grief. _Please._ Promise me that if I lose my life in battle, you will not give up. _Ever._ You know you would want me to do the same for you."

He did know.

"Alright..." Mario sighed, a hand on his chest, "I promise."

"You promise what?"

_"Ugh..._ I promise I won't ever give up."

Luigi prompted, "Even if...?"

"Even if I lose you!" Mario gripped Luigi's hand tightly between the two of his own, "I promise I will never _ever_ give up, even if I lose you!"

Luigi beamed, "Okay! Thanks, bro!"

Luigi rolled onto his back, both arms behind his head and one foot on his knee. Mario shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"I get the feeling that's been on your mind for awhile."

"Yep. I've seen you get close to giving up before because you lost someone. I'd be devastated if that happened to you because of me."

The wind picked up again, and both of them closed their eyes as birds landed in the tree above them to sing.

"Thanks, Luigi." Mario said, "You're wonderful."

Luigi laughed, "Right back at'cha, bro."

They stayed like that for a few more minutes before Luigi suddenly jumped to his feet.

"Crap! I forgot about Polterpup!"

Mario sat up, "Did you not see him when you first got home?"

"I did, but he ran off!" Luigi reached for a hat out of habit, "Let's go find him!"

The two brothers headed off into the distance, and after everything that happened, the normalcy of the situation was all too welcome.

THE END


End file.
